USAG Bavaria DPW team Supports Warfighter Readiness through Preventive Maintenance

TOWER BARRACKS, Germany – As part of U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria’s yearly Preventive Maintenance Program a team of Directorate of Public Affairs personnel are helping maintain barracks, ensuring war fighter readiness by making sure safety standards are upheld and appliances function correctly.

“In 2025, we will conduct maintenance on all barracks, covering 2,777 units in Tower Barracks and 2,721 units in Rose Barracks,” said Josef Scheidler, supervisory facility operations specialist at Tower Barracks. ”This requires us to maintain around 13 apartment units, including their bathrooms, per working day, per site.”

To accomplish this mission, dedicated preventive maintenance teams work on site each day at Tower and Rose Barracks with approximately 10 team members each. The teams consist of carpenters, electricians and plumbers. They get further support from all the other trades – bricklayers, painters, metal workers, roofers and road builders.

“Savings from capturing the work inhouse by PM adds up very quickly,” said Lance Cooper, branch chief DPW Operation and Maintenance. “We deploy a small PM team for just a few hours, invest just a few hundred dollars in materials per unit, and the return on investment is more than 100 percent. This is a direct increase to quality of life for the warfighter and fosters care and pride in personal space and required inspections.”

During the walk-through, key building systems and areas will be inspected and serviced as needed. This includes checks and repairs for the fire alarm, emergency lighting, electrical systems, windows, doors, walls and floors. Kitchens and bathrooms will be inspected for functionality, leaks, and cleanliness, with filters replaced where necessary.

To facilitate this process, barracks managers and residents will be informed in advance of the scheduled maintenance.

“We kindly request their cooperation in preparing the units by tidying up rooms, cleaning bathrooms, and unplugging any electrical devices so that electrical tests can be carried out efficiently,” said Scheidler.

Additionally, the exterior will be reviewed for roof issues, facade damage, and landscaping maintenance. Parking areas and street outlets will also be checked. Building substations, including heating, water, and electrical systems, will be tested and maintained to ensure everything is operating safely and efficiently.

All common areas such as laundry rooms, shared kitchens, storage spaces, basements, attics and hallways, will be maintained. In short, all maintainable components of the property will be addressed as part of a comprehensive inspection and maintenance effort.

“If there are still repairs that we cannot complete in the short time we are on site, these will be entered into ArMA by Operations and Maintenance and processed later,” said Scheidler. “A lot of Soldiers are afraid to put in ArMA requests. But that’s what it is here for: to help fix something when it is broken.”

ArMA, otherwise known as the Army Maintenance Application, serves to streamline work orders and non-privatized housing issues across the U.S. Army. For more information about ArMA visit: https://www.army.mil/article/242565

Four Directorate of Public works employees have recently been awarded for their driving force behind the program.

Wolfgang Schaller and Max Scheruebel were recognized as U. S. Army Garrison Bavaria Professionals of the Quarter, 1st Quarter, fiscal year 2025. Schaller received this award due to his superior performance as supervisory civil engineer and Scheruebel received it due to his superior performance as maintenance general supervisor.

“I was personally very honored to receive this award, which I see as recognition for our entire Buildings and Grounds department within the Operation and Maintenance DPW,” said Schaller. “There are many employees in my departement who deliver excellent performance on a daily basis and are motivated to do their work every day. Especially when we get the positive direct feedback from the Soldiers or Families we serve, which of course motivates us to keep going.”

Additionally, Günter Rescher and Lance Cooper were named heroes of the week, a recognition for exceptional work. They received certificates of appreciation for their dedicated work and support of the PM program. Rescher functions as the DPW O&M Preventive Maintenance Shop chief and leads the preventive maintenance team on Tower Barracks.

Cooper was the driving force behind implementing the Preventive Maintenance Program in 2025.

“We are supposed to keep the installation running with technical expertise,” said Schaller. “That’s what we try to do. We act and not just react. … Apartments are technical systems that need to be maintained as a whole, especially as the buildings get older.”

The preventive maintenance team only has one request for tenants:

“Where we need help from the residents is in maintaining the accommodation,” Schaller said. “Regular cleaning, especially of the wet rooms, is very important. This is sometimes underestimated”