6966th Transportation Truck Terminal award and farewell ceremony

Kaiserslautern, Germany – The 6966th Transportation Truck Terminal held an award and farewell ceremony on Dec. 11, 2023, at the Clock Tower Cafe, Kleber Kaserne. During the ceremony, 12 German civilians were presented with Length of Service certificates representing over 495 years of dedicated and professional service to the U.S. Army. Two drivers were also recognized for accident-free driving, one being recognized for 500,000 miles and one for 750,000 miles.

Operational since 1953, the 6966th TTT, part of the Theater Logistics Support Center – Europe and Africa, employs 265 German civilians and has been working seamlessly with the U.S. Army to transport and deliver any of the Army’s needs, such as ammunition, vehicles, and equipment. Their missions take them through Europe and Africa, going as far as Azerbaijan and Morocco.

According to Helmut Kraemer, 6966th TTT superintendent, it’s important for their workforce to be recognized for their dedicated service to the U.S. Army. “We’re proud to have these guys in my unit,” said Kramer. “On one hand, we’re going to lose some people and the younger ones will get trained by those guys and that makes the difference to some other units. That’s the experience we have in our unit and can transfer the experience to the newcomers.”

As head of the overall operations, Kraemer takes pride in his employees’ success and outstanding safety record. Their support group has the lowest accident rate in the Army, with a 0.29% accident rate per 1,000,000 miles driven.

“It’s very important to say thank you for what they do during your daily business, and we need to give them an impression that we really recognize what they do for the unit,” said Kraemer. Of 265 employees, approximately 165 are professional and cross-trained drivers who have a combined average of 3.7 million miles per year. Their mission is to support military exercises, deployment operations, and humanitarian aid support with a tailored vehicle fleet ranging from small cargo vans and 40-ton trucks to heavy equipment transporters.

“It’s not an easy task for our drivers to go from point A to point B without a break,” said Eckhart Rank, motor transportation supervisor. “Many people know that we have done a good job and it’s good for our unit to be recognized for our work.”

Recognizing the professionalism and skills of the 6966th’s members is important for the unit’s morale and the younger employees’ plans for the future, knowing that they will also receive recognition for jobs well done.

“Every human being needs some recognition, right,” said Stefan Keller, motor transportation driver. “I’m glad we started to celebrate the anniversaries again. It allows us to get some recognition from our supervisors and previously it had been lost in the past a bit, so I’m very glad it’s started again.”

As director of Theater Logistics Support Center – Europe and Africa, Helmut Haufe is honored to recognize his employees for their hard work and dedication. “It makes me extremely proud to see my employees being recognized for excellence over a span of five up to 45 years of service,” said Haufe. “It says a lot about the organization and the U.S. Army as an employer. It obviously is an indication that it works for both sides, otherwise, it would not have lasted as long as it has.”