BASOPS Maintenance internship grads make for prime apprenticeship candidates

GRAFENWOEHR, Germany - In a short yet inspiring journey, two German high school students recently completed an intern program at one of the Base Support Operations Maintenance shops on Tower Barracks in Grafenwoehr.

The two students, Bastian Lindner and Elijah Kossligk-Gallegos, go to high school in the local area nearby the U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria community. During the two-week internship Nov. 12-22, they gained invaluable insight into the career field and the daily duties of an automotive mechatronics technician, said Stefan Pfister, chief of operations at BASOPS Maintenance, 405th Army Field Support Brigade.

"Both students showed tremendous interest and enthusiasm throughout their time with us," Pfister said, "and they have even expressed potential interest in pursuing an apprenticeship with us after completing their education."

To honor their dedication and hard work, the BASOPS Maintenance manager and two shop foremen presented Lindner and Kossligk-Gallegos with certificates of appreciation, symbolizing the organization's commitment to nurturing young talent and fostering future careers with the 405th AFSB and the Army in Europe, Pfister said.

Stephanie Kramer is the director of BASOPS Maintenance. She said the intern program is a great way for interested host-nation students to see if the U.S. Army's apprentice program is a good fit for them when they graduate. The next iteration of the BASOPS Maintenance apprenticeship program is scheduled to start Sept. 1, 2025. It will include hands on training in the maintenance shops as well as vocational schooling, which focuses mostly on theory.

The BASOPS Maintenance apprenticeship program provides a unique opportunity for the exchange of real-world experience from senior mechanics and inspectors with a fresh set of hands, eyes and perspectives from the newly assigned apprentices. This exchange benefits everyone - the team, BASOPS Maintenance, the garrisons and even the community members, Kramer said.

"The apprenticeship program offers career opportunities to people who are interested and qualified, and it's also a great tool to rejuvenate our workforce and proactively groom the next generation of BASOPS Maintenance employees as we bid farewell to some of our deserving retirees," said Kramer.

Currently the BASOPS Maintenance apprenticeship program is available in the USAG Bavaria area of responsibility only. To find out more about the program, call DSN 314-526-3801 or commercial +49-9641-70-526-3801. If interested, send your resume to this email.

As a field operating activity under the 405th AFSB, BASOPS Maintenance provides equipment maintenance support to all garrison community organizations and activities in Germany. It provides consolidated material maintenance support for base support operations equipment and mechanical safety inspections for privately owned vehicles. It performs automotive maintenance on a fleet of garrison support vehicles to include special purpose and armored vehicles, fire and rescue, snow and ice removal and construction equipment such as scoop loaders, excavators, scrapers, road graders, tractors, rollers, and more.

The 405th AFSB is assigned to U.S. Army Sustainment Command and headquartered in Kaiserslautern, Germany. The brigade provides materiel enterprise support to U.S. forces throughout Europe and Africa - providing theater sustainment logistics; synchronizing acquisition, logistics and technology; and leveraging the U.S. Army Materiel Command materiel enterprise to support joint forces. For more information on the 405th AFSB, visit the official website and the official Facebook site.

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