4th ID thanks Baumholder community in awards ceremony

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Jason Epperson | Brig. Gen. Timothy J. Daugherty, deputy commanding general, 4th Infantry Division, presents a certificate of achievement to Claudia Weber, the single soldier housing manager of USAG Reinland-Pfalz, during a relocation awards ceremony at the Mission Command Element headquarters in Baumholder, Germany, Dec. 22, 2015. (Photo by Ignacio Rubalcava/Public Affairs Garrison, Baumholder, Germany)  

BAUMHOLDER, GERMANY

12.23.2015

Story by Sgt. 1st Class Jason Epperson 

4th Infantry Division Public Affairs Office

BAUMHOLDER, Germany - The 4th Infantry Division's Mission Command Element (MCE) hosted a relocation awards ceremony to award 16 civilian and service members certificate of achievement at the MCE headquarters in Baumholder, Germany, Dec. 22, 2015.

Brig. Gen. Timothy J. Daugherty, deputy commanding general, 4th Infantry Division, was in attendance to personally thank the Baumholder community for their efforts during the MCEs transition from Grafenwoehr to Baumholder, Germany, on October 2015.

“I’ve been in the Army 24 years now and I’ve not seen a more professional transition, a more professional reception and more professional hard-working individuals bring a unit in as I saw with the Baumholder community and post.”

“I want to personally express my thanks, because it is the best [transition] I’ve seen in my career and I’ve seen many at many different places,” Daugherty said. “The level of effort, the level of sincerity and the level of concern was amazing. We’ve gone from an empty building into one of the better headquarters that I’ve seen in such a small period of time.”

The ceremony included a brief history of the MCE from its inception at Camp Aachen, Grafenwoehr, to the move to Baumholder and its overseeing rotations of several units across the Atlantic Resolve footprint.

First Lt. Robert Hall, assigned as the 4th ID MCE Battle captain, said that within 45 days of the MCE relocating, a team of civilians and soldiers across Europe made the seemingly impossible task become a reality and successfully relocated the MCE HQ with no loss to operational capabilities.

“Behind the scenes, this team descended on Baumholder and significantly improved building force protection requirements needed for classified material, overhauled the power grid and communication networks to run technical systems,” Hall, a native of Norfolk, Nebraska, said. “They also furnished empty offices, set up garrison support systems, and moved a sizable fleet of equipment to Baumholder.”

“It is only through the distinct actions of these individuals that the MCE achieved this,” Hall said. “Their efforts afford us all the unique opportunity to strengthen the NATO alliance and ultimately build a stronger Europe.”

Peter Lang, Baumholder district mayor, was also in attendance and said it was a pleasure and honor to attend the ceremony.

“As the district mayor, I always see that it’s a good sign of our allies that we have new troops here in Baumholder,” Lang said. “I would like to say thanks to all these guys that support us in the European theater.”

The list of awardees included:
From USAG Rheinland-Pfalz Military Community: Bruce Likens, Ilmar Krastins, Don Sparks and Claudia Weber

USAREUR: Kimberly Pierce, Vincent Simmons, Paul Guelle and James Meredith

21st TSC: Staff Sgt. Johnathan Wright and Spc. Bradley Sobeck

16th Sustainment Brigade: Sgt. Jeffrey Gonzales, PV2 Daniel Jimenez and PV2 Eric Asmussen

102nd Signal Battalion: John Neilson, Ryan Folkmann and William Jenkinson

• Date Taken: 12.23.2015
• Date Posted: 12.23.2015 09:08
• Story ID: 185234
• Location: BAUMHOLDER, DE
• Hometown: NORFOLK, NE, US