{"id":65879,"date":"2023-12-13T23:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-14T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=65879"},"modified":"2023-12-14T16:42:22","modified_gmt":"2023-12-14T16:42:22","slug":"garrison-celebrates-local-nationals-devoted-firefighting-career","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=65879","title":{"rendered":"Garrison celebrates local national\u2019s devoted firefighting career"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden Director of Emergency Services Cody Ferguson (left) presents local national USAG Wiesbaden firefighter and crew chief Captain Thomas Graef with a plague in honor of his 38-year career in a retirement ceremony held at the Garrison Wiesbaden fire house on Clay Kaserne, Nov. 22. (Photo by Volker Ramspott, Training Support Activity Europe)
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WIESBADEN, Germany \u2013 A local national fire fighter was honored for 38 years of service in an intimate retirement ceremony at the U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden Directorate of Emergency Services fire house on Clay Kaserne, Nov. 22.<\/p>\n

In the Army, selfless service can be defined, in part, as doing your duty loyally without thought of recognition or gain. For USAG Wiesbaden firefighter and crew chief Captain Thomas Graef, volunteerism and selfless service began as a boyhood dream that came to fruition over nearly four decades as a professional and 50 years as a volunteer firefighter.<\/p>\n

Rauenthal beginnings<\/h5>\n

Public service is often referred to as a calling, however 38 years of public service is more than just a calling.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirefighting comes from the bottom of your heart,\u201d explained Graef\u2019s supervisor, USAG Wiesbaden Fire Department Chief Daniel Corzelius.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

For Graef, selfless service and fighting fires was more than a passion \u2013 it was tradition.<\/p>\n

Graef\u2019s journey to becoming a professional firefighter began in 1972 when he joined the local volunteer fire department managed and led by his grandfather, in his hometown of Rauenthal, Germany.<\/p>\n

However, achieving his boyhood dream of working in a German firehouse would be stymied by German regulation. But his drive to be a professional firefighter would find a different path through opportunities with the U.S. Army.<\/p>\n

Clear path ahead<\/h5>\n

Two regulations stood in the way of Graef fulfilling his dream of becoming a professional firefighter \u2013 one he could overcome, the other proved more challenging.<\/p>\n

Graef knew that according to German regulation, firefighters must have a handyman\u2019s trade. He knew going back to school and learning a trade was his first step, therefore he decided to become an electrician and eventually found work repairing helicopters on the Clay Kaserne Airfield.<\/p>\n

The second regulation would pose more of an obstacle.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Germany, I could not be a professional fire fighter because I wore glasses,\u201d said Graef.<\/p>\n

Though a daunting hurdle to overcome, he would not let it stop his desire to join the professional firefighting corps.<\/p>\n

Firefighting was in his blood but serving as a volunteer fighting fire was not enough.<\/p>\n

He knew that the German \u201cno-glasses restriction\u201d did not apply to U.S. firefighters, therefore working with the U.S. Army firefighting service could be the solution to his problem.<\/p>\n

Graef was officially hired as a member of the USAG Wiesbaden fire department back on June 1, 1985 \u2013 leaving the airfield and his electrician duties behind him.<\/p>\n

Starting his career handling fire hoses as a rookie firefighter, Graef rose to become a shift leader and ultimately became an assistant chief, responsible for incident response and management.<\/p>\n

A proven leader throughout his career, Graef applied his firefighting expertise towards training countless numbers of fighters throughout the years, from rookies to battalion chiefs.<\/p>\n

Evolving fire presence<\/h5>\n

The U.S. Army has had a firefighting presence on Clay Kaserne for 77 years. Graef has been a part of that history for almost four decades.<\/p>\n

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\n Local national USAG Wiesbaden firefighter and crew chief Captain Thomas Graef was honored for 38 years of service at an intimate retirement ceremony at the U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden Directorate of Emergency Services fire house on Clay Kaserne, Nov. 22. (Photo by Volker Ramspott, Training Support Activity Europe)
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In that time, he has seen the garrison fire department expand, adding more equipment and personnel over the years.<\/p>\n

\u201c(\u2026) As Clay Kaserne grew, so did the responsibilities to respond to the needs of the growing community,\u201d said Graef.<\/p>\n

The fire department grew over the years, but the building remained the same size.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I started there were only two trucks and now \u2013 we have so many they will not fit in the firehouse.\u201d<\/p>\n

Building special bonds<\/h5>\n

Serving as a member of the USAG Wiesbaden Fire Department can be a tough and dangerous profession that offers long hours of shift work \u2013 often during the holidays \u2013 that can mean a lot of time away from family and loved ones.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing a fire fighter is a calling and it takes a lot of time away from the family,\u201d said USAG Wiesbaden DES Director Cody Ferguson.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Spending a lot of time together in close quarters during difficult situations can bring people closer.<\/p>\n

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\n Local national and retiring U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden firefighter and crew chief Captain Thomas Graef (center) stands with his \u201cother family\u201d in the USAG Wiesbaden fire house following a ceremony honoring his 38-year career as a professional firefighter, held on Clay Kaserne, Nov. 22. (Photo by Volker Ramspott, Training Support Activity Europe)
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The closeness between Chief Graef and his crews is evident. To many of his men, Graef is known as \u201cOpa,\u201d German for grandfather.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy Opa? I am the oldest\u2026all my guys are younger than me,\u201d added Graef with a slight smile.<\/p>\n

Recognizing their support and sacrifices throughout Capt. Graef\u2019s long and distinguished career, his family present \u2013 Gaby Graef and Johannes Graef, were presented with a bouquet of flowers and a gift basket.<\/p>\n

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\n U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden Assistant Fire Chief for Prevention Karin Morrell presents Gaby Graef with a bouquet of flowers in recognition of her support and sacrifice during a retirement ceremony, held Nov.22, to honor the 38-year firefighting career of her husband, USAG Wiesbaden firefighter and crew chief Captain Thomas Graef. (Photo by Volker Ramspott, Training Support Activity Europe)
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\u201cNobody can be a success for 38 years, without strong family support \u2013 thank you for supporting Thomas,\u201d said Corzelius.<\/p>\n

Next steps<\/h5>\n

Though the ceremony marked a major milestone for Chief Graef, he won\u2019t be riding an engine truck into the sunset of retirement, just yet.<\/p>\n

In what can be referred to as coming full circle, and though his 38-year career as a professional firefighter has come to an end, Graef will continue to be a fixture in the USAG Wiesbaden fire department as a volunteer.<\/p>\n

When he finally decides to hang up his firefighting boots Graef and his wife have plans to do spend more time hiking.<\/p>\n

Local national employment<\/h5>\n

Local nationals have consistently been a part of the workforce, working side-by-side with U.S. armed forces and civilian personnel, on overseas installations for decades.<\/p>\n

The garrison workforce in Wiesbaden is comprised of more than 475 personnel of which 370 are local national hires \u2013 more than 75%.<\/p>\n

Finding qualified applicants who want to apply and fill the void is a constant recruitment effort for Garrison\u2019s Workforce Development team.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are short local national hires\u2026especially in the blue collar, engineer, technician and administration career fields,\u201d said USAG Wiesbaden Workforce Development Program Manager Thomas Schulze.<\/p>\n

Despite the many employment opportunities that are available, many local nationals do not know that the U.S. military is such a large employer, right here in their back yard.<\/p>\n

If you know of a local national who might be interested in working for the U.S. military in Europe or to learn more about civilian local national employment opportunities visit: https:\/\/portal.chra.army.mil\/mnrs<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden Director of Emergency Services Cody Ferguson (left) presents local national USAG Wiesbaden firefighter and crew chief Captain Thomas Graef with a plague in honor of his 38-year career in a retirement ceremony held at the Garrison Wiesbaden fire house on Clay Kaserne, Nov. 22. (Photo by Volker Ramspott, Training Support Activity […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":65881,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-65879","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65879","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=65879"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65879\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65886,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65879\/revisions\/65886"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/65881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=65879"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=65879"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=65879"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}