KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany (March 21, 2014) -- The Wounded Heroes Service Center on Kleber Kaserne opened its doors one year ago, and since that time, it has helped more than 1,700 wounded Soldiers from Landstuhl Regional Medical Center obtain new and replacement uniform items.
Located in the Army and Air Force Exchange Service's Military Clothing Store, the center was the result of a five-month construction project that began in August of 2012. Initiated by the 21st Theater Sustainment Command and funded by the U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz, the project entailed renovating the 720-square-foot warehouse facility by adding new wheel-chair accessible ramps, automatic doors, dressing rooms, handicap-accessible bathrooms and additional registers.
"This was a $250,000 project, so we had to have command approval to get this done," said Deniz Barcala, manager of the Kaiserslautern Military Clothing Store. "The 21st TSC is the reason this happened."
With the Wounded Heroes Service Center, or WHSC, operating apart from the main store, wounded Soldiers now have the privacy they need when visiting Kleber for their military clothing needs. As Barcala explains it, wounded Soldiers who are medically evacuated from a combat zone to Landstuhl arrive with often only the clothes on their backs.
"When they are wounded, they don't have time to pack their bags. Everything is left behind," she said. "We make sure they get two sets of ACUs (Army Combat Uniform), full PT (physical training) gear, long sleeve and short sleeve shirts, pants, jacket, boots, socks, undershirts and underwear."
Since the WHSC opened on Jan, 16, 2013, Barcala and her staff have issued over $700,000 worth of military clothing, and wounded Soldiers don't have to pay a penny.
"The Army covers this," explained Barcala. "From AAFES, we also give them a $250 gift certificate to purchase regular, everyday clothes."
Robert Young has been warehouse worker at Kleber MCS since June of last year and said he and his fellow AAFES co-workers never hesitate to stop what they are doing to assist a group of wounded Soldiers arriving by shuttle bus at the store.
"Everyone drops what they are doing," said the Columbus, Ga., native. "We immediately meet the Soldiers in the (WHSC). We get their paperwork; they get a shopping cart, and we start pulling their sizes. We make sure their boots fit properly. If they want to try things on, we have two dressing rooms."
Young, a former member of the U.S. Army himself, added, "I used to be on the other end, so I know what it feels like to be appreciated by civilians and other military personnel."
For their efforts in assisting wounded Soldiers over the past years, Barcala and her staff received a certificate of appreciate in January from the Landstuhl Medical Transient Detachment. The WHSC on Kleber is the only facility of its kind in all of AAFES worldwide stores.
"We feel privileged to give something back to the Soldiers," said Barcala. "They are doing so much for us."
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