HOHENFELS, Germany -- Fifty-nine German and American civilian awardees gathered with friends, colleagues and peers to be recognized for their outstanding years of service to the U.S. Army in a ceremony, here, May 17.

These garrison employees served anywhere from 10 to 50 years each and together they logged a total of 1,455 years of service to the U.S. Army.

The U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria at Hohenfels hosts their awards ceremony semiannually to formally acknowledge its employees, both civil service and local national. It also lets the employee know that their hard work and efforts have not gone unnoticed.

As Garrison Commander Col. Adam J. Boyd presented the awards Friday, he took a moment to let the awardees know how much he appreciated their work and dedication.

"I also want to take a moment to express my most sincere gratitude to the family members of our honorees." Boyd said. "Your dedication has kept our communities whole, healthy and vibrant. This garrison would not be what it is without each one of you. Thank you."

In addition to the length of service awards Boyd presented three Team Awards, one Commander's Award for Civilian Service and one Achievement Medal for Civilian Service.

Several local mayors were also in attendance to honor the employees' dedicated service. These include Bernhard Graf of Hohenfels, Josef Bauer of Parsberg, Manfred Hauser of Lupburg, Martin Bauer of Schmidmuehlen, Konrad Meier of Beratzhausen, and Stefan Braun of Kastl.

The ceremony ended with a group photo of the awardees, the local mayors of the surrounding communities and Col. Boyd.