KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany – The chief of the Army Oil Analysis Program Laboratory Europe was recognized for his service with the Army during a ceremony at the 405th Army Field Support Brigade, Feb. 22.
Davoud Tehranfar, who has been the AOAP lab chief for almost 12 years, was honored for his 29 years of service during his retirement ceremony at the 405th AFSB’s brigade headquarters in Kaiserslautern.
Tehranfar started working as a local national employee at the AOAP lab in Mannheim in 1995, his first job with the Army. Within one year, after gaining his U.S. citizenship, he was hired as an Army government civilian employee at the Mannheim lab.
He also worked at an environmental laboratory in Landstuhl next to the hospital for three years. Following his time at Landstuhl, he returned to the AOAP lab in Mannheim and stayed there until the lab moved from Mannheim to its current location at the Kaiserslautern Army Depot in Kaiserslautern.
Tehranfar said working for the Army has been an unparalleled experience, and he is very grateful and proud of his Army career.
“Initially, when I took my first job with the Army, I thought I would probably work there for six months or a year and then take another job,” said Tehranfar, who is 67 years old. “I never thought I would work for the Army all these years.”
“I am very pleased, and I am very happy,” he said. “For 12 years I’ve been driving from Wiesbaden, where my wife teaches, to Kaiserslautern for work. I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t enjoy my job. I really appreciate all the opportunities I’ve been afforded working for the U.S. Army.”
Tehranfar holds a doctorate degree in organic chemistry from the University of Oldenburg in northern Germany. Originally from Tehran, Iran, he came to Germany in 1980 to pursue his educational goals. He met his future wife, Patricia Schlachter, at the university. Then an American exchange student, Schlachter is a teacher with the Department of Defense Education Activity school system for nearly 37 years and currently teaches at the Wiesbaden High School.
The AOAP lab is assigned to the 405th AFSB. The mission of the lab is to provide and execute AOAP for U.S. European Command and U.S. Africa Command by supporting the warfighters with the most technologically advanced diagnostic tools capable of worldwide mobilization for detecting impending failures in oil wetted components before catastrophic failures occur.
The lab is one of less than a dozen AOAP labs in the world and the only one in Europe. It is part of a Department of Defense-wide effort to predict equipment component failures and lubricant conditions by testing oil samples from different types of equipment such as vehicles, generators and aircraft. Through the application of laboratory non-destructive analytical techniques – flight safety is improved, equipment readiness is enhanced, and resources can be conserved.
Enrollment in AOAP is mandatory for many Army aircraft frames and all combat vehicles, watercraft, and locomotives. AOAP can help save equipment, hours of maintenance downtime and potentially save lives. The AOAP lab offers detailed monitor training that covers all steps, from taking samples to correctly completing and submitting forms. To request training or get answers to questions, call the AOAP lab customer service line at DSN 314-483-7980/7984, or send an email. For more information on AOAP, go to the 405th AFSB's AOAP web page.
The 405th AFSB is assigned to U.S. Army Sustainment Command and headquartered in Kaiserslautern, Germany. The brigade provides materiel enterprise support to U.S. Forces throughout Europe and Africa – providing theater sustainment logistics; synchronizing acquisition, logistics and technology; and leveraging the U.S. Army Materiel Command materiel enterprise to support joint forces. For more information on the 405th AFSB, visit the official website and the official Facebook site.
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