VILSECK, Germany – When she accepted the job offer with Army Field Support Battalion-Germany last April, the workforce management specialist was excited because she knew she would be serving alongside Soldiers.
Having been an Army spouse for more than 20 years – moving from one duty station to the next – and having worked as a local national employee with the Army for nearly 25 years, Ulrike Pailliotet has developed an affinity for Soldiers, she said.
For several years, Pailliotet worked at Logistics Readiness Center Bavaria in Grafenwoehr, Germany. She also worked for a short time at the Civilian Human Resources Agency in Kaiserslautern, Germany. And to better care for an aging parent, she returned to LRC Bavaria and worked there for a couple more years.
However, all those positions afforded Pailliotet little opportunity to interact with Soldiers. All the employees at LRC Bavaria and CHRA are local nationals and Army civilians – with no Soldiers – whereas AFSBn-Germany has all three, she said.
“What I really enjoy most about working here at AFSBn-Germany is simple. The Soldiers, civilians and local nationals all work so closely together,” said Pailliotet, who is 59 years old and grew up in Erolzheim, Germany, near the Alps. “All these years, my heart still goes out to Soldiers who give so much. They give everything.”
“I’ve had opportunities I would have never had if I hadn't married an American Soldier,” said Pailliotet, who worked at a bank, a veterinary clinic and an art gallery while stationed in the U.S. with her Soldier husband. “That’s the main reason why I’m glad I joined the battalion. I’m able to work closely with Soldiers, now.”
Some of Pailliotet’s responsibilities as a workforce management specialist and local national human resources liaison and advisor at AFSBn-Germany include developing and revising local national position descriptions, completing local national time and attendance reports, assisting with local national recruitment and hiring actions, and assisting with local national awards and recognition. Pailliotet also liaisons with the Civilian Personnel Advisory Center and helps her team better understand host nation regulations and agreements, merit system principles, and prohibited personnel practices.
But Pailliotet also assists Soldiers and Army civilians at AFSBn-Germany, as well, which she said she equally enjoys. She helps them with any administrative questions or concerns they may have, she assists them with awards, she issues them their ration cards, and she provides them with guidance on various administrative and HR functions and processes.
“It's a really small organization, you know, so I help out however I can. Every person knows each other very well. It’s a family setting,” said the mother of a 36-year-old son who lives in Arlington, Texas. “I feel very comfortable here. It’s a good place to be. I’d say I’m extremely fortunate to be able to work for the U.S. Army and AFSBn-Germany.”
AFSBn-Germany has mission command of the Dülmen Army Prepositioned Stocks-2 worksite in Dülmen, Germany, which is comprised of about 140,000 square feet of hardstand space and approximately 480,000 square feet of humidity-controlled warehouse space with an additional 140,000 square feet of storage in the maintenance and storage swing space areas. AFSBn-Germany is also set to assume mission command of the Coleman APS-2 worksite in Mannheim, Germany, later this year.
AFSBn-Germany is one of four battalions assigned to the 405th Army Field Support Brigade and is headquartered at Rose Barracks in Vilseck. In addition to its APS-2 mission, AFSBn-Germany is responsible for U.S. Army Materiel Command’s Logistics Assistance Program in Europe. The program is operated by Logistics Assistance Representatives from AMC’s four Life Cycle Management Commands – Aviation and Missile Command, Communications and Electronics Command, Joint Munitions Command, and Tank-automotive and Armaments Command. LARs provide subject-matter expertise on all Army fielded systems and assist Soldiers with troubleshooting and early detection of faults. These LARs serve side-by-side with supported tactical units and are currently deployed in support of multiple operations across Europe.
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 AMC’s 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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