21st TSC hosts Kaiserslautern civic, business leaders

Story and photo by Capt. Doug Magill
21st Theater Sustainment Command
Helmut Haufe (left), Theater Logistics Support Center-Europe director briefs Klaus Weichel, Kaiserslautern Lord Mayor (second from right) and members of the Kaiserslautern U.S. Business Council, during a visit to the TLSC-E, Aug. 15 at Kaiserslautern Army Depot.

Kaiserslautern’s top elected official joined area business leaders to increase their awareness of the 21st Theater Sustainment Command’s mission during a visit to the 2-star command’s headquarters, Aug. 15, at Panzer Kaserne.

Klaus Weichel, Kaiserslautern Lord Mayor, joined 10 members of the Kaiserslautern U.S. Business Council for a mission brief from Maj. Gen. Steven A. Shapiro, 21st TSC commanding general, before touring the Theater Logistics Support Center-Europe facility on Kaiserslautern Army Depot. Helmut Haufe, TLSC-E director, guided the tour for TLSC-E which is responsible for executing sustainment across Europe for the 21st TSC – which serves as the logistics headquarters for U.S. Army Europe, a 3-star command headquartered in Wiesbaden, Germany.

Part of the discussion at TLSC-E included how to improve recruiting practices for the skilled labor workforce. The TLSC-E employs approximately 1,400 people in multiple trades throughout Europe, with German nationals comprising the majority.

“The quality of the work they do here is tremendous,” Weichel said of the TLSC-E. “A lot of local German nationals work here, and for us it’s very important. There’s a big economic impact.”

Shapiro discussed resetting the European theater during the mission brief as the Army increases its presence in Europe through rotations of regionally aligned forces.

“We’re relearning as Soldiers and commercial entities how to move an armored brigade and we’re getting very good at it,” Shapiro said. “DB Cargo has done an amazing job training subordinates how to lift an American tank.”

The Kaiserslautern U.S. Business Council is comprised of 12 businesses with locations in the Kaiserslautern area and serves as a forum for cooperation between the city of Kaiserslautern and the private sector.