Name: Jean-Noel De Caluwe
Job title: Motor Vehicle Dispatcher
Assigned: Transportation Motor Pool, Logistics Readiness Center Benelux, 405th Army Field Support Brigade
Location: Chièvres Air Base, Belgium
Experience: I’ve been working as a motor vehicle dispatcher for LRC Benelux at the Transportation Motor Pool on Chièvres Air Base for two year and two months. Before that I worked as a security officer for a private company in Belgium.
Hometown: Mons, Belgium
Family: I’m legally engaged to my life partner, Nicole, and we’ve been together for 13 years. We have a son who is 12-years-old, and his name is Joel.
Q: Can you explain what your duties are as a TMP motor vehicle dispatcher for LRC Benelux, 405th AFSB?
A: I have many responsibilities as a TMP motor vehicle dispatcher. I schedule and dispatch motor vehicles for various U.S. Army Garrison Benelux workers as well as other units and commands. We have more than 100 non-tactical vehicles in our TMP fleet. I am also responsible for organizing airport pickups for new arrivals and new families, and I help manage a fleet of five buses that provide transportation to and from Chièvres Air Base to SHAPE during the weekdays, four times per day. I also organize the transportation requirement for a weekly supply mission from Chièvres to Brunssum, Netherlands. This supply mission came about during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Q: Why is the LRC Benelux Transportation Motor Pool so important?
A: We provide an important and necessary service for the USAG Benelux community. For example, at the end of September we supported the Chièvres Air Fest 2021. There were about 15,000 spectators and participants, and the TMP team at LRC Benelux was responsible for providing a shuttle bus service from the predesignated parking areas to the air fest for everyone who came to the event. In addition, I was responsible for transporting distinguished visitors as well as pilots and air crews who were participating in the air fest. I was in charge of this mission for LRC Benelux, and it was three really long days of work but very satisfying. Having a fleet of TMP vehicles is very important here because there are multiple installations that comprise the USAG Benelux area of responsibility, and people need these vehicles to move from one location to another during daily operations.
Q: What do you enjoy about your job, and what motivates you?
A: It’s always something new at this job, and I like dealing with the different challenges that arise. What I like about working here is that every day can be a bit different. We sometimes have to deal with unexpected situations, like someone will get a flat tire or another problem with the vehicle they dispatched from us will arise. And if there’s an accident, we need to react quickly – we need to provide a backup vehicle, get the damaged vehicle towed if necessary, schedule an appointment with the repair shop, support the accident investigation as needed and do whatever we have to do. We have an on-call system at my office to help with emergent situations. If it’s my week and I’m call, I have to react quickly and help out. Something could happen over the weekend or maybe during the middle of the night. I like helping out as much as I can. I like supporting the people and the community here. It’s very satisfying.
LRC Benelux and 405th AFSB: LRC Benelux is one of seven LRCs under the command and control of the 405th AFSB. LRCs execute installation logistics support and services to include supply, maintenance, transportation and food service management as well as clothing issue facility operations, hazardous material management, personal property and household goods, passenger travel, and non-tactical vehicle and garrison equipment management. When it comes to providing day-to-day installation services, LRC Benelux directs, manages and coordinates a variety of operations and activities in support of U.S. Army Garrison Benelux. LRC Benelux reports to the 405th AFSB, which is assigned to U.S. Army Sustainment Command and under the operational control of the 21st Theater Sustainment Command, U.S. Army Europe and Africa. The brigade is headquartered in Kaiserslautern, Germany, and provides materiel enterprise support to U.S. Forces throughout Europe and Africa – providing theater sustainment logistics; synchronizing acquisition, logistics and technology; and leveraging U.S. Army Materiel Command’s materiel enterprise to support joint forces. For more information on the 405th AFSB, visit the official website at www.afsbeurope.army.mil and the official Facebook site at www.facebook.com/405thAFSB.
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