WIESBADEN, Germany -- Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, commanding general, United States Army Europe, presented the Legion of Merit, Degree of Commander, to retired German Lt. Gen. General Rainer Glatz in a ceremony, here, Oct. 22.
In attendance of the awards ceremony were other distinguished visitors to Army Europe, including State Secretary Markus Gruebel, Parliamentary State Secretary in the Ministry of Defense; German Lt. Gen. Carsten Jacobson, commander, Field Army; German Brig. Gen. Markus Laubenthal, chief of Staff, Army Europe; and Col. Bill Williams, deputy chief of staff, Army Europe; as well as other Army Europe staff.
Hodges presented Glatz's Legion of Merit on behalf of Secretary of Defense Ash Carter. The award was presented to Glatz for his longtime service and support to U.S. forces both in Germany and while deployed to Afghanistan as part of the International Security Assistance Forces there.
"We greatly appreciate Lt. Gen. Glatz's support for our 12th Combat Aviation (Brigade) and 10th Mountain folks there in Regional Command North," Hodges said.
Glatz was deeply moved by the occasion.
"As a German Army captain, liaison to the U.S. 8th Infantry, during the REFORGER days, I never dreamed I would receive such an honor," Glatz said. "This award is not mine alone, but is for all of those with who I worked with over the years."
Although Glatz recently retired, Hodges was keen to point out how Glatz continues to work for a think tank to help educating German officials on strategy and security matters.
The Legion of Merit, the first United States decoration created specifically for award to citizens of other nations, was established by an Act of Congress of July 20, 1942, amended by an executive order of March 15, 1955. It has since been presented to thousands of U.S. allies and partners from more than 30 countries. In addition to military leaders, kings, presidents and prime ministers are among those honored with the LOM.
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About us: U.S. Army Europe is uniquely positioned in its 51 country area of responsibility to advance American strategic interests in Europe and Eurasia. The relationships we build during more than 1,000 theater security cooperation events in more than 40 countries each year lead directly to support for multinational contingency operations around the world, strengthen regional partnerships and enhance global security.
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