Local German reserve organization recognizes emergency services director

Encouraged by a growing relationship with U.S. forces at U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz, German reserve troops recently honored Lt. Col. George Brown, the garrison’s emergency services director.

Brown, who oversees military police, firefighters and security at Army posts throughout Rheinland-Pfalz, received a silver commendation medal from the Bavarian Association of Soldiers, 1874, an organization of German reserve military members.

They presented him with the honor and an accompanying plaque during a recent supper at a local restaurant.
Oberstabsfeldwebel Roland Christmann, a senior German NCO and the organization’s chairman, and Harald Westrich, mayor of the Otterbach union community, presided over the brief ceremony.

After Sept. 11, 2001, Germans noticed they had less frequent contact with American forces, Christmann said. That has changed recently, to include partnering together for community events.

On June 14, when garrison firefighters held a “Thank You, Wounded Warriors” luncheon at the USO Warrior Center on Wilson Barracks, German reserve members helped cook food on their field kitchen, said Hans Zoske, a garrison fire prevention inspector who’s helped coordinate partnership efforts. They helped serve both wounded warriors and hospital staff at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center.

On Nov. 17, garrison personnel joined the German reserves in Otterbach for the community’s ceremony for Volkstrauertag, the people’s mourning day. The public holiday in Germany commemorates all those who died in armed conflicts. They also joined together for a Nov. 24 church service in Kaiserslautern to support the old, poor and lonesome.

“This partnership that began last summer is very important to us,” Christmann said.

Christmann spoke of Brown as a longtime friend to Germany, who’s served for more than a decade in Europe, contributing to the safety of Americans and Germans alike.

“Security begins with a family and ends within a nation,” Christmann said. “Because of his work and his co-workers, Europe is a safer place.”

During the event, Brown mentioned that he and his German wife, Sandra, were also celebrating their ninth anniversary that day.

He stressed that soldiers, regardless of nationality, understand that they act for those beside them — their friends and their partners.

“I’m humbled to be a part of this event and proud to be part of this community,” Brown said. “We’re in this together, no matter what comes.”