Vol. 49, No. 6, May 2020
Serving the Greater Stuttgart Military Community
www.stuttgartcitizen.com
C VID-19 COMMUNITY REFLECTION
Photo by Jason Johnston, TSC Stuttgart Susan Triesch, local volunteer and member of the USAG Stuttgart community, donates her time to assist in stocking shelves at the Panzer Kaserne Commissary as part of an effort to maintain fully stocked grocery stores during this time of the coronavirus pandemic. This took place at the commissary located on Panzer Kaserne, Boeblingen, on April 23. To read more, turn to page 5.
Commissary workers and volunteers part of the new front line Story by Staff Sgt. Thomas Mort Special Operations Command Europe STUTTGART – On any given evening, approximately 30 workers and volunteers converge at Patch Barracks’ commissary to load, shelve and scan products – a steadfast team fighting on a new front line against a deadly and invisible enemy, COVID-19. Some cashiers, like Irina Hodges, a commissary teller, have consistently worked extra hours to keep the crucial commissary benefit open to the military community, retirees and civilians. Commissary staff is there daily to receive shipments, which arrive six days a week. “I’m just here doing my job and doing my part to keep everything going,” Hodges said. “Right now I’m full time at 40 hours a week whereas before I was at 28 a week.” The Defense Commissary Agency maintains four commissaries at U.S. Army Garrison Stuttgart, a joint service military community serving roughly 28,000 Americans. “Since COVID-19 started, we’ve had a 50 to 80 percent increase in business and high-
demand items,” said Scott Harmon, commissary store director for Patch Barracks and Panzer Kaserne. “This all started around March 9.” Early on, commissary workers met increased demands with a much smaller staff than normal, Harmon said. “The issue was, when we lost ten to 30 percent of our workforce the show still kept on,” explains Harmon. “With the help of garrison leadership and the community, we’ve pulled together for all four commissaries and we’ve been able to get critical hires on board.” Along with the regular staff, the commissary and community have been fortunate to have so many willing volunteers step up and help out. A U.S. Army Soldier, assigned to Special Operations Command Europe, was one of many who answered the call. Sick and quarantined in mid-March, his team members from work rallied, bringing him food and supplies through a window. His only human contact was through the phone. See NEW FRONT LINE, page 2
Photo by Staff Sgt. Thomas Mort, SOCEUR PAO Irina Hodges, a commissary teller, scans a customer's purchased products at Patch Barracks’ commissary, April 26. Hodges has consistently worked extra hours to help keep the crucial commissary benefit open to the military community, retirees and civilians at U.S. Army Garrison Stuttgart.