Photo By Cameron Porter | Kevin Hovis, the 405th Army Field Support Brigade’s engineer, meets with a new...... read more read more
KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany – The week of February 16-22 is a big week, February is a big month, and 2025 is a big year for 405th Army Field Support Brigade Engineer Kevin Hovis.
Along with the rest of the nation, the brigade facilities engineer is celebrating National Engineers Week during the third week of February, and at the end of the month he’s celebrating his 45th birthday. To top it all off, he joins his fellow Army civilians, Soldiers and families in celebrating the Army’s 250th birthday all this year.
Hovis, who arrived at the 405th AFSB in July of 2023, said his primary job at the brigade is to ensure all the Army Prepositioned Stocks-2 storage, maintenance and support facilities can properly accommodate the thousands of APS-2 vehicles and equipment sets strategically located at multiple worksites across Europe.
“This week is a good example,” said Hovis, who also worked for the Department of the Navy for about 10 years. “One thing this week I’m doing is reviewing the drawings for a new maintenance center we’re hoping to build in Brunssum [Netherlands].”
“I’m also working with the Dutch government, who are offering to build another maintenance facility in Eygelshoven [Netherlands], so it’s been a lot of interfacing with them and U.S. Army Installation Management Command to figure out the best placement and other important details,” he said.
Hovis' first government job was with the Marine Corps working in a joint program office focused on fielding mine resistant ambush protected vehicles. He said the wonderful thing about working for the Department of Defense and the Army is protecting Soldiers.
“For me, it’s about bringing the Soldiers home to their families, and when I look at my contributions and my job ensuring all these facilities can properly store and maintain these vehicles – the vehicles that enable and protect the warfighters – the way I see it, my job is about helping to protect our warfighters,” Hovis said.
When it comes to the Army’s 250th birthday celebration this year “it blows my mind knowing that the U.S. Army is older than our country, itself,” said Hovis. “I’m a little bit of a geek being an engineer, but when you look back at all the technology advances over the past 250 years in the Army – not just weapons but also medical, protective armor, vehicles, aircraft, et cetera – it’s incredible. Happy 250th birthday, U.S. Army!”
As far as National Engineers Week goes, Hovis said it’s fabulous to know he can celebrate his birthday and this important week on the same month. National Engineers Week promotes educational and career opportunities in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
National Engineers Week is a wonderful opportunity to talk about Army engineering and what engineers do, said Hovis, who grew up just outside of Charlotte, N.C., and holds a professional degree in systems engineering from the University of George Washington, a master’s degree in systems engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School and a bachelor’s degree of science in industrial engineering from Clemson University.
When working for the Marine Corps, Hovis said he would meet with students at a local middle school during STEM Week. There he would talk to the students about what engineers do, why education is important, and how understanding things like three-dimensional calculus and the highest levels of math and physics are critical to the construction of bridges, buildings, and other facilities and structures.
National Engineers Week is well worth emphasizing, Hovis added. Highlighting the achievements of Army engineers, engaging with educational and community groups, and participating in various STEM outreach programs and events is extremely important.
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 U.S. Army Materiel Command’s materiel enterprise to support joint forces. For more information on the 405th AFSB, visit the official website at www.afsbeurope.army.mil and the official Facebook site at www.facebook.com/405thAFSB.
| Date Taken: | 02.14.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 02.14.2025 05:13 |
| Story ID: | 490800 |
| Location: | KAISERSLAUTERN, RHEINLAND-PFALZ, DE |
| Hometown: | DALLAS, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 53 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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