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Walk across any Army post in Kaiserslautern and you’ll see the accomplishments of Willimore Mack, director of U.S. Army Garrison Kaiserslautern’s public works.
Construction and maintenance, repairs and renovations, land care and environmental improvements — thankless tasks that fall under the watchful eye of an Army civilian who has dedicated much of his life to improving the quality of life for Soldiers, civilians and family members.
For his efforts, the U.S. Army Installation Management Command selected Mr. Mack for this year’s William C. Gribble Jr. DPW Executive of the Year Award.
“Whatever success that I’ve had in my organization has been due to our team and to the commanders allowing us to do things we need to do,” said Mr. Mack, who has led the garrison DPW’s staff for nearly six years.
Each year, IMCOM recognizes superior performance and outstanding contributions of Army public works employees and organizations. Lt. Col. Kevin Hutchison, commander of U.S. Army Garrison Kaiserslautern, recommended Mr. Mack, citing Mr. Mack’s knowledge of DPW operations, maintenance, sustainment, finance, resource allocation and environmental stewardship.
“His exceptional management of personnel and resources, his leadership, drive, and common sense approach make him unique,” Colonel Hutchison wrote in Mr. Mack’s recommendation. “He is exceptional at what he does.”
Raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., Mr. Mack, 66, served in the Reserve Officer Training Corps while studying architecture in college. Graduating in 1967, Mr. Mack was commissioned as an Army lieutenant and served tours in Vietnam, Korea and Germany. In 1975, during a force reduction, Mr. Mack hung up his Army captain’s uniform, but remained in Germany to work as a government civilian in Zweibrücken. By 1992, he moved to Kaiserslautern and has been working within DPW ever since.
On April 7, Col. William Butcher, commander of U.S. Army Garrison Baden-Wuerttemberg, notified Mr. Mack of his selection, saying he was proud of his accomplishments and thanking him for his support of the KMC.
William Holz, the DPW’s deputy director, said his boss is a “go-to guy” who takes a “hands-on approach” to projects and works tirelessly to get things accomplished.
“There is no one more deserving of this award,” Mr. Holz said.
However, Mr. Mack humbly credits the people working in the DPW for his recent recognition. Accomplishments are due to “good people, good team work and good commanders,” he said.
As director, Mr. Mack oversees Army public within the largest U.S. military community in Europe. That includes maintenance of 14 million square feet of building space, a budget of more than $100 million, 80 employees, plus 290 contracted personnel.
The garrison DPW provides base operations support to 15 Army installations in the KMC, including kasernes in Kaiserslautern, Landstuhl, Miesau and Pirmasens. They maintain 2,670 facilities, 7,750 acres of land, 18 miles of rail lines, 143 miles of paved roads and 60 miles of unpaved roads.
The DPW team is always looking forward to see how to make improvements in the community, Mr. Mack said.
“We anticipate things,” he said. “We have the attitude that we can always execute.”
Last year, the DPW logged 14,000 service orders. Many work requests were part of the Army’s transformation in Europe, with many more units moving or planning to move to Kaiserslautern. Quick turnarounds on work requests have led to high customer satisfaction, Mr. Holz said.
“The DPW is service organization,” Mr. Mack said. “We exist to provide a service to our Soldiers and civilians. And that’s what we do.”
