Photo By Staff Sgt. Jacob Wongwai | Denise Schleyer, Ramstein Retiree Activities Program volunteer, speaks during the...... read more read more
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As the Retiree Appreciation Day event kicked off at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, hundreds of retirees gathered within one of the Officer’s Club ballrooms where they were provided breakfast and waited for the official ceremony to start.
Various speakers stood in front of the retirees and gave their thanks to the retirees and their spouses for their sacrifices during the ceremony.
At the end of the ceremony, a room full of information booths opened, allowing retirees to walk around and learn about topics ranging from how to file taxes in Germany to obtaining tailored medical care.
“This is an annual event we put together that we design specifically for retirees to have some way to say ‘Thank you for your service,’” Erik Thomsen, U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz Retirement Services Program services officer, said.
The Retiree Appreciation Day event took place Oct. 14, 2021. The event is just one of the many ways the Ramstein Retiree Activities Program and USAG RP Retirement Activities Program are helping retirees within the local community.
“We’re just here to help,” Denise Schleyer, Ramstein Retiree Activities Program volunteer, said. “I’ve gone as far as Munich to help spouses whose partner has passed away in figuring out their documents.”
Though some people may think the retiree programs’ mission might not be as grandiose as other units, they are still just as important to Ramstein and USAG RP’s missions.
“The veterans who are in the area that married a German citizen or even stayed after their service,” Schleyer said. “They’ll call our office asking about certain documents or have questions about things and we help them out with it.”
The programs at Ramstein and USAG RP are different from stateside bases because they also have to help retirees adapt to living in Germany. The programs are available to help more than retirees, they are also available to help their families.
“We helped a lady whose husband passed away two years ago,” Thomsen said. “She waited 18 months and didn't receive any money, and so she called me and we were able to get about 24,000 dollars in back pay.”
Program leaders at Ramstein and USAG RP want to make sure the many initiatives have a positive impact on the local retiree community.
“With the retirees themselves any questions they have they can come to our office, even if they just want to say hi,” Thomsen said. “My personal goal is to treat every single retiree here as though it was the way I want to be treated or for my family to be treated.”
| Date Taken: | 10.19.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 10.19.2021 05:23 |
| Story ID: | 407520 |
| Location: | RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, RP, DE |
| Web Views: | 119 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, RAB, USAG RP thank retirees, by SSgt Jacob Wongwai, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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