Sergeants major work to improve quality of life for Soldiers in Wiesbaden barracks

Photo By Lisa Bishop | WIESBADEN, Germany – Command Sgt. Maj. Robert Abernethy, U.S. Army Europe, toured housing Aug. 24, 2020, that was recently designated for E-6 single Soldiers in the Crestview housing area at U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden. Abernethy listened to Command Sgt. Maj. Chris Truchon, U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden, and Keith Taylor, chief of unaccompanied personnel housing for the Directorate of Public Works, as they described how E-6 Soldiers are now given the option to live in full-sized apartments with roommates instead of the barracks. “We are moving E-6 personnel out of our barracks to excess housing as a quality of life improvement,” Truchon said. “That frees up beds in the barracks to improve their quality of life too.” Staff Sgt. Jonathan Felix, E-6 operations assistant at U.S. Army Europe G3 Fires, opened his apartment for the tour and answered questions from the tour group.  

WIESBADEN, HESSEN, GERMANY

08.27.2020

Story by Emily Jennings  

U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden   

This is Part 1 of a series of articles highlighting the improvements to the barracks at U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden

WIESBADEN, Germany - U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden is taking steps to improve the quality of life for Soldiers in its barracks.

One such project already under way is giving staff sergeants the option to move out of the barracks and into apartments in Crestview. Many single Soldiers are currently housed in dormitory-type rooms shared with another Soldier, connected to another room with two Soldiers by a shared bathroom. The new setup will allow junior ranking Soldiers to have a barracks room to themselves and share the bathroom with only one other Soldier, while Staff Sergeants will have the option to live in a two-bedroom apartment with another Soldier.

“I am excited for the community and our staff sergeants moving into Crestview,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Rob Abernethy, U.S. Army Europe. “This is our effort to help improve the quality of life for our Soldiers while assigned to Germany, specifically in Wiesbaden. Moreover, the staff sergeant move to Crestview will increase room availability for the E-1 to E-5 population living in the barracks - hence, improving their quality of life as well as we strive to reduce room occupancy from two Soldiers per room to one. In the end, this is a win for all.”

Other projects currently in the works are the repainting of the stripes in the barracks parking areas, repainting stairwells and hallways and renovating day rooms.

“We’re working on the small things first,” said Garrison Command Sgt. Maj. Christopher Truchon. This includes edging, painting exteriors and looking at the trash pickup contract to ensure it best serves the needs of the Soldiers. More improvements will be made as the budget allows.

“When you’re walking along the street and you see a piece of trash, pick it up,” he said, adding that it’s something he does regularly. “If everyone in the community picked up trash, edged around their homes, think of what we could do.”

Truchon encouraged everyone in the community to take responsibility for the cleanliness of their surroundings.

“This is our home in Germany,” he said. “It’s a big garrison, and it’ll be a better place for everyone if everyone pitches in.”

Beginning next fiscal year, the housing office is looking at adding TVs and foosball, air hockey and pool tables to the dayrooms in the barracks.

Lisa Bishop contributed to this report.

• Date Taken: 08.27.2020
• Date Posted: 08.27.2020 09:17
• Story ID: 376896
• Location: WIESBADEN, HESSEN, DE