Former IMCOM-Europe employee returns to head Strategic Initiatives Group

By Anna Morelock, IMCOM-Europe Public AffairsOctober 3, 2022

Christofer Collins briefs IMCOM-Europe and garrison leaders at the fall Garrison Leaders' Working Group at U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden.
Christofer Collins briefs IMCOM-Europe and garrison leaders at the fall Garrison Leaders' Working Group at U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden. (Photo Credit: Photo by Sandra Roemer, EMC-VISE) VIEW ORIGINAL

WIESBADEN, Germany – A lot has changed at Installation Management Command Europe since Christofer Collins left 12 years ago. Since returning in June he’s enjoying learning about those changes and paving the way for more as the manager of the new Strategic Initiatives Group.

“The SIG was established to give us a little bit of additional strategic thought space,” Collins said.

The SIG will look across the region to synthesize opportunities where IMCOM-Europe is doing things well and wants to spread those practices, Collins said. The group also will look for opportunities to make things more efficient, and they will work on special projects with a strategic focus.

In one of his first initiatives Collins helped develop the IMCOM-Europe Leader Development Program, which is set to kick off in October.

The Army offers Civilian Education System courses and then senior enterprise-level programs for GS-14 and GS-15 employees. The new IMCOM-Europe program is intended to accelerate professional development for GS-11 through GS-13 employees.

“We’re then growing a better cadre of professionals to apply for those Army-wide programs,” Collins said.”

Getting the chance to make decisions and implement programs is part of what brought Collins back to government service after working in the private sector.

“What I found in industry was I was part of developing a solution but never part of that group that can make that final decision,” he said.

Collins came back on board from the private sector with IMCOM-Europe while it was still located in Heidelberg, Germany and moving to Sembach. He spent 18 years overall at the Pentagon in Washington, DC and was the chief of Army Housing before spending several years with the Navy in Naples, Italy.

In June, Collins returned to IMCOM-Europe in Wiesbaden, not far from where he first started school in Offenbach as an Air Force dependent.

“The Army professional community here at IMCOM-Europe is unlike anywhere else,” Collins said. “It’s just a great opportunity to work with all the division chiefs and special staff because there’s decades of experience there. I get to listen, learn and contribute back to the team. It’s a great opportunity.”