Photo By Mary Del Rosario | Grant McCormick, USO regional vice president and Sandi Ballew, center operations...... read more read more
KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany – Staff Sgt. Garth D. Ritter, contract specialist with the 409th Contracting Support Brigade, was recognized as the 2024 United Services Organization Europe, Middle East and Africa Volunteer of the Year, Dec. 20 during a ceremony at Sembach Kaserne.
Having volunteered over 200 times with more than 700 hours logged — according to the USO citation — Ritter has made a significant impact on the Kaiserslautern Military Community and the USO Deployment Processing Center (DPC) on Rhine Ordnance Barracks, home to U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz headquarters.
Ritter provided steady support to USO staff during an operational transition at the DPC, dedicating weekends to help maintain the center’s operations, which supports tenant and transient units within the garrison.
He expressed his gratitude for the opportunities and support he received along the way.
“The USO helped me enhance my leadership, cooking and arts and crafts skills,” said Ritter. “I’d also like to thank my leaders at the 409th Contracting Support Brigade, who introduced me to volunteering at the USO.”
Ritter created innovative programs, including popular murder mystery nights at the DPC, and taught Soldiers how to bake.
“As a service member myself, I understand how tough it is to be away from friends and family,” said Ritter. “Whether baking or supporting activities held at the USO DPC, I hope these small acts bring happiness to an individual’s day.”
Since 1941, the USO, a private, nonprofit social service agency, has provided social, welfare and recreational services for U.S. service members and their families. They currently maintain more than 160 centers worldwide as a support network for military communities.
Within U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz, the USO operates facilities at the Deployment Processing Center on Rhine Ordnance Barracks, the Warrior Center at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, and a USO center on Smith Barracks in Baumholder.
For more information about the USO Kaiserslautern or for volunteer opportunities, visit https://kaiserslautern.uso.org/
U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz serves, supports, and secures the total force community enabling power projection for the European Theater.
| Date Taken: | 01.14.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 01.14.2025 02:33 |
| Story ID: | 489030 |
| Location: | KAISERSLAUTERN, RHEINLAND-PFALZ, DE |
| Web Views: | 20 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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