IMCOM say goodbye to Brig. Gen. Thomas Horlander, director of resource management
September 27, 2011
SAN ANTONIO -- As Oct.1 ushers in the new fiscal year, the Army Installation Management Command bids farewell to its chief money manager.
Brig. Gen. Thomas Horlander, outgoing director of resource management, was presented with a Distinguished Service Medal by IMCOM Commanding General Lt. Gen. Rick Lynch at a ceremony Sept. 27. Horlander has served with IMCOM since July 2008 and contributed "immeasurably" to the command's success, particularly by spearheading a streamlined service and enterprise contract management program and guiding G8's transition to the complex General Fund Enterprise Business System, or GFEBS, accounting system.
"I've never in my 35 years of service found somebody who had the passion, the aggressive approach, the ability to work with difficult issues when it came to garnering resources," Lynch said. "We as an organization, we as a community, are better because have been blessed with Thomas Horlander over the last 39 months."
Horlander supervises the funding of IMCOM's 83 garrisons worldwide. He is deploying to Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, to serve as the resource manager for the 3rd Army/Army Forces Central Command, which funds all operations in the Middle East theater.
He said his time at IMCOM has made him a better military comptroller, adding, "Your importance to the mission is not necessarily related to your proximity to the fight."
"It has been an incredibly rewarding job," Horlander said. "I love the IMCOM family and the people that I work with. I have a great workforce."
Taking his place is Brig. Gen. Curt A. Rauhut, formerly the director of business operation at the Office of Business Transformation at the Office of the Secretary of the Army. Multiple deployments throughout his 27 years in the Army have taught him to "appreciate all the great services that are provided to you by IMCOM when you're back home."
The challenge, of course, is maintaining that level of service under fiscal restraints and a smaller civilian workforce. But he's up to it.
"With every challenge comes an opportunity," Rauhut said. "I think these are going to be challenging times but also a time that lends itself to increased opportunities to better serve our Soldiers as well."
Rauhut is joined by his wife, Julissa, and has a son, Chase, at Fort Hood.