Courtesy Photo | Marco Wiedemann is a plans and operations specialist with Army Field Support...... read more read more
MANNHEIM, Germany – After spending 13 years in North Africa – mostly Morocco – working for the German Federal Ministry of Economics plus a short stint with the U.S. Air Force and another with the city of Ludwigshafen working procurement and contracting, Marco Wiedemann decided to bring his skills and experience to the Coleman Army Prepositioned Stocks-2 worksite in Mannheim.
The German local national employee and plans and operations specialist with Army Field Support Battalion-Germany at the Coleman APS-2 worksite has been in this new position for almost a year. He said he likes the work he’s doing because of the people he works with and the APS-2 mission he supports.
“I’m just loving it here,” said the 53-year-old husband and father of two who was born in Kaiserslautern, Germany, but now lives in a small village near Landau, about 30 miles south of the APS-2 site where he works. “The most important reason is the team, the people I’m working with. It’s a lot of fun, and life’s too short to not have fun. There are a lot of things that are always in the flow here, and that also makes it interesting and fun.”
“Of course, it’s much different than what I did before,” said Wiedemann, “but it’s interesting, and there’s always a large variety of tasks to accomplish – different circumstances, different workloads, and different people to work with.”
Wiedemann was initially hired as a quality assurance specialist with AFSBn-Germany at the APS-2 worksite but was needed in plans and operations, so he quickly volunteered to work in that capacity and has been doing so for the past several months. He said Coleman is interesting from a plans and operations perspective because of the work and the workforce.
There are about 20 Army civilian employees at the Coleman APS-2 worksite, including Army Expeditionary Civilian Workforce, as well as about a half a dozen host nation employees like himself, but most of the workforce at the site are contactors, he said.
“The local national employees are crucial for the mission here because in general – let’s say on a long-term basis – we help provide the continuity,” said Wiedemann. “And the contractors are very important, too. Their way of working may be slightly different than ours, meaning the (405th Army Field Support Brigade), but we all work extremely well together to get the mission done.”
Ultimately, it’s the mission that matters most, regardless of the variations within the workforce and the multiple backgrounds and cultures, he said. When the team comes together as one to meet mission and get the job done, that’s when Wiedemann says he enjoys his work at Coleman most.
Coleman is one of six APS-2 worksites across Europe under the mission command of the 405th AFSB. The 405th AFSB’s APS-2 program provides turn-key power projection packages ready to deploy at a moment’s notice while helping to reduce the amount of equipment needed from the deploying forces’ home stations. APS-2 sites like Coleman help reduce deployment timelines, improve deterrence capabilities and provide additional combat power for contingency operations.
The 405th AFSB is the premier logistics integrator and synchronizer for U.S. European Command, enabling readiness solutions to ‘Support the Warrior’ by operationalizing U.S. Army Materiel Command capabilities and delivering readiness within the U.S. Army Europe and Africa areas of responsibility at the points of need.
The 405th AFSB is assigned to U.S. Army Sustainment Command and 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 at www.afsbeurope.army.mil and the official Facebook site at www.facebook.com/405thAFSB.
| Date Taken: | 08.04.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 08.04.2025 06:56 |
| Story ID: | 544664 |
| Location: | MANNHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, DE |
| Web Views: | 22 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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