This work, Landstuhl Regional Medical Center Advances Global Health Engagement, Strengthening Alliances and Readiness, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright lawmaker wants to know whether the Pentagon’s largest overseas medical facility is denying employment to qualified military spouses in favor of local applicants in Germany questioned the Defense Health Agency’s hiring practices at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center The letter is addressed to DHA director Lt Telita Crosland and seeks information specific to the Defense Department’s hospital near Kaiserslautern military spouses often are referred to volunteer for the American Red Cross and “essentially perform the duties and responsibilities of a medical practitioner … without financial compensation,” Pfluger wrote in the Oct which asked for LRMC’s hiring data for the past five years Pfluger also requested information about how the agency is prioritizing military spouses for hiring as well as compensation data for spouses who work in full- or part-time positions at military medical facilities worldwide “If they’re actually prioritizing (people) other than fully qualified spouses then we want to know what those practices are what the priority list looks like and how they’re making their decisions,” said Pfluger a second-term representative who served 20 years in the Air Force as a pilot and now is a colonel in the Air Force Reserve A DHA spokesperson confirmed receipt of the letter but said the agency couldn’t address the questions without first formally responding to Pfluger The letter echoes decades of frustration by military spouses who say they are forced to quit their well-paying jobs when their family is posted overseas most have few employment opportunities when living in Europe many military families must live on one income dig into savings and sometimes rely on a Defense Department supplemental food program to make ends meet That change followed years of policy that forbade the practice unless a military spouse gave up rights and protections afforded them through the NATO Status of Forces Agreement physical therapists or other medical professionals said they were encouraged to give as much as 40 hours a week to the Red Cross or other organizations in the hope that doing so could lead to an eventual paid position those professionals saved LRMC more than $600,000 in unpaid labor Asking qualified military spouses to volunteer their medical skills for free is not only unacceptable but also frustrating a June 2023 White House directive that ordered federal agencies to develop a strategic plan for hiring and retaining military spouses is empowering spouses can better advocate for themselves directly question a hiring manager about employment practices and ask what is being done to comply with the order the DHA should be more proactive in hiring military spouses “This is filling the gaps that they have at their facilities overseas,” said Conlin who chairs the board of the Military Spouse Chamber of Commerce and is an adviser for Blue Star Families and this is improving the care of those that go to those facilities.” Pfluger said he wrote the letter after learning about the recent experience of a military spouse who wanted to work at LRMC as well as stories of others who faced similar situations Pfluger’s office will review the data and evaluate its compliance with federal mandates “One hundred percent we will be pursuing any sort of change to the law if we find that that’s not the case and that the hiring practices favor others (over) spouses,” he said This work, Mock Survey Prepares Landstuhl for Joint Commission Visit, by Robert Helton, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright This work, Landstuhl Regional Medical Center reverified as only U.S. Level II Trauma Center overseas, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright Germany — Firefighters extinguished a fire Thursday at an industrial laundry facility that blazed for nearly eight hours and spurred air quality warnings in a town near the U.S An evacuation order affecting buildings nearby the Elis industrial laundromat in Landstuhl and an advisory to keep windows and doors shut within a 1.25-mile radius were lifted Thursday afternoon Landstuhl fire department spokesman Hans-Jürgen Denzer said An analysis of smoke samples sent to a lab in Ludwigshafen detected no significant pollutants The fire destroyed the facility’s laundry production hall but didn’t reach the warehouse containing chemicals “The fire was contained so that it could not spread to surrounding buildings,” the district statement said “Analysis of the drone images shows that the main hall is completely destroyed.” The immediate area around the site on Bruchwiesenstrasse about a half-mile from the town’s train station remained cordoned off for safety Thursday afternoon Most emergency had left the scene except for Landstuhl’s fire brigade No injuries have been reported so far due to the fire Nearby residents reported waking up to an early morning bang Emergency responders received the alarm at 3:56 a.m. No one was inside the building as the fire spread quickly throughout the structure About 200 emergency personnel were at the scene and the area was cordoned off The responders included police and fire personnel from nearby municipalities and the U.S The laundry facility is about 1.5 miles north of the “cardiac hill gate” at the U.S military’s Landstuhl Regional Medical Center The Elis industrial laundromat does business with LRMC It also contracts with the largest hospital in Luxembourg and is one of the largest companies in Landstuhl Stars and Stripes reporter Marcus Kloeckner contributed to this report Traffic in Landstuhl is expected to worsen over the next two years as the city embarks on a major renovation of Kaiserstrasse detours and infrastructure work planned through 2026 including those heading to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center will likely face significant delays as the city undergoes a transformation aimed at revitalizing its downtown area Landstuhl city is set to begin a major renovation of its downtown Kaiserstrasse at the end of October after an initial delay due to higher-than-expected project costs local newspaper Wochenblatt reported Monday The project is moving forward this month after the initial construction originally slated for April was postponed when bid prices exceeded estimates by double digits The renovation of Kaiserstrasse will be completed in three phases fully closing to traffic starting this month Work will then continue from Wiesenstraße to Pallmanns Eck with the final phase stretching to Von-Richthofen-Strasse “The goal of the project is to improve the quality of life along Kaiserstrasse,” former Landstuhl Mayor Ralf Hersina noted in video update on the project before leaving office in August “This serves to give our local businesses and retailers a better environment.” This will include widened pedestrian sidewalks he explained to allow local businesses to improve their curbside presences To make room for the expanded pedestrian spaces the project will remove parking spaces in favor of short-duration loading zones city officials will extend the parking duration on the nearby new market square bus traffic will be redirected from Kaiserstrasse and speed limit reduced to reduce traffic and increase pedestrian safety and comfort the city will replace underground sewer lines Traffic diversion signs will be posted ahead of construction to inform drivers of alternative routes and alternate parking areas will be signed as well The project is expected to take two years to complete and will cost 5.8 million euros which is part of a larger initiative to revitalize the city center Jakob-Weber-Platz and Adolph-Kolping-Platz areas already have been completed as part of the project launched in 2017 “The reconstruction of Kaiserstrasse will challenge us all,” Hersina said Landstuhl’s Kaiserstrasse project is not the only construction affecting the area Access to the nearby Landstuhl Regional Medical Center has been impacted by ongoing roadwork which began in August and is slated to last until Dec according to Rheinland-Pfalz’s mobility agency The road between the Army-operated SATCOM facility along L470 and Hitzelberger Strasse has been closed and hospital staff and patients were directed to use the A62 exit Landstuhl-Atzel to reach Gate 3 or Gate 1 there have been no significant access-to-care issues related to traffic congestion said in an email to Stars and Stripes in September “We are committed to providing the best medical care to our patients and beneficiaries and will continue to monitor the situation closely,” Helton added This work, Pacific Northwest Army Reserve Soldiers care for injured deployed soldiers at Landstuhl, by SGT Jerry Zuetrong, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright This work, Landstuhl Regional Medical Center Soldiers take part in Maritime Medical Combat Training in Greece, by Kirk Frady, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright soldier assigned to a military hospital in Germany faces over four years behind bars and must register as a sex offender after being found guilty of sexually assaulting a female fellow soldier in his barracks room a member of the Medical Readiness Battalion at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center was convicted Friday by a military jury in Kaiserslautern of sexual assault and assault consummated by battery Besides receiving a prison term of four years and two months Karki was sentenced to a demotion in rank to private and a dishonorable discharge just after both Karki and the victim had arrived in Landstuhl for their assignments in the same unit The woman became ill while in Karki’s barracks room so he moved her to a spare bed and then sexually assaulted her the victim’s testimony was corroborated by DNA evidence eyewitness testimony and a sexual assault nurse examiner “The serious penalties faced by the accused are in line with how this violation will impact the victim for the rest of her life,” prosecutor Maj This work, Landstuhl Regional Medical Center airman receives prestigious combat award, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright This work, Landstuhl Regional Medical Center team exchange knowledge with Lithuanian military on casualty evacuation care, by Kirk Frady, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright significant roadwork on L470 will affect access to the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center according to the Rheinland-Pfalz State Agency for Mobility in Kaiserslautern (LBM) Drivers should expect detours and delays as crews undertake a nine-month overhaul to improve and expand the heavily-traveled route Army Signal Activity Kaiserslautern satellite station and L465 necessitates sectional full closures of the state road due to the narrow roadway conditions A major detour will be in place throughout the project duration Hospital will only be possible via the Atzel neighborhood of Landstuhl LRMC could not immediately be reached for comment The project aims to address the severely damaged asphalt and upgrade the junction to the hospital into a roundabout offering long-term benefits despite the temporary inconvenience The extensive work will involve a complete rebuild of approximately 1.5 kilometers of roadway including widening certain sections and updating the entire drainage system Three culverts will be replaced to improve surface water management This work, 7451st Medical Operational Readiness Unit takes charge of Deployed Warrior Medical Management Center (DWMMC), by Kirk Frady, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright The Ramstein-Miesenbach Junction 13 on highway A6 will undergo extensive construction from Aug according to an 86th Airlift Wing statement through-traffic on the A6 will be largely unaffected by the construction work as it will be guided past the construction site in a two-lane configuration according to the German Highway Administration Phase One: Workers will begin securing the construction site in the direction of Kaiserslautern on Monday the junction in the direction of Kaiserslautern will be then be closed Traffic will be diverted via the Kaiserslautern-Einsiedlerhof Junction 14 Drivers using the L363 between Landstuhl and Ramstein will be redirected to the Landstuhl-West interchange to rejoin the A6 toward Kaiserslautern Significant delays are expected during peak traffic times workers will begin securing the worksite on the opposite side the closure will then affect traffic toward Saarbrücken Vehicles will be diverted through the Landstuhl-West interchange while L363 traffic will be routed to the Kaiserslautern-Einsiedlerhof junction Officials urged motorists to monitor traffic updates Germany — Landstuhl Regional Medical Center this month celebrates its 70th anniversary but with construction of its replacement proceeding apace the storied hilltop hospital is unlikely to have many more anniversaries in its future Work a few miles away on the $970 million Rhine Ordnance Barracks Medical Center is on schedule to be finished in 2027 and within its budget The new hospital will offer care to approximately 31,000 beneficiaries in the Kaiserslautern Military Community as well as specialty services to 209,000 others throughout Europe The transition has been in the making as early as 2010 when the military said that renovating and upgrading the old hospital would be too expensive Excavators started clearing the forest near Ramstein Air Base for the new hospital in 2014 Initial plans called for the hospital’s completion by 2022 but construction timelines have since been repeatedly revised the project is estimated to be 16% finished the area of Rhine Ordnance Barracks Medical Center will exceed LRMC’s by roughly 218,000 square feet The new hospital will feature nearly the same number of beds It is expected to employ roughly 2,500 people The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war on NATO’s eastern front underscores the importance of having a wide-ranging care provider on the Continent The hospital has treated Ukrainian soldiers wounded in the fighting over the past year “The new facility will decrease transportation times for critically injured patients medevaced through Ramstein from more than 20 minutes to just five minutes,” hospital spokesman Marcy Sanchez said “It’s also a more secure path of transportation.” The Rhine Ordnance Barracks facility will be able to shift focus to wartime care as required to treat battlefield injuries or handle mass casualties for troops deployed in Europe Ramstein’s 86th Medical Group will combine its operations with those of the new facility Details of the merger “are just beginning to take shape,” David Fortune Both the hospital and the air base now share a gate which is served by a lengthened road loop and a roundabout Although none of the new hospital’s buildings are finished renderings of the complex’s design show a wavy facade intended to be reminiscent of a billowing American flag In addition to the nearly $1 billion construction contract Germany is contributing more than $165 million to planning and construction supervision according to the German Construction Administration About $200 million has already been spent on the construction and compensatory measures prescribed by German nature conservation laws LRMC began as a humble Cold War-era community hospital in 1953 A rise in worldwide terrorist acts against Americans in the 1980s led to an increase in its importance to the military Service members injured in the bombing of the Marine Corps barracks in Beirut and the LaBelle disco bombing in Berlin in 1986 were treated there The first major local test for Landstuhl’s staff when Italian jets collided during an air show at Ramstein sending burning debris hurtling into the crowd of German and American onlookers military drawdown in Europe following the Gulf War in 1991 leaving Landstuhl as the largest overseas Defense Department medical facility During the wars that followed the 9/11 terrorist attacks the hospital rapidly expanded its bed capacity and added the Deployed Warrior Medical Care Center to handle large numbers of casualties “There have always been events that challenged their team,” said retired Army Maj who took command of the hospital as a colonel shortly before 9/11 “But usually these were one- or two-week events before going back to normal “What our team faced was going from a relatively sleepy quiet regional-referral medical center to a 300-bed evacuation platform that didn't slow down over the long term.” Landstuhl became known as the evacuation point for airlifted soldiers and Marines with injuries from the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan was cared for at LRMC in December 2005 after he was severely injured by a buried explosive in Fallujah Larson returned to the hospital grounds last week for his first visit since that stay more than 15 years ago including an experimental pain management system that was being tested at the time,” Larson said “People here really are the best and know what they are doing.” shows Larson smiling in his hospital bed during a visit from WWE wrestler the Big Show the building and grounds will remain under the management of U.S The old hospital facilities may continue to be used for logistical and administrative functions Germany — The remains of a Jewish-American soldier who died in 1944 and was buried in a mass grave with soldiers who fought for the Nazis in occupied France were given to U.S officials Tuesday during a ceremony at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center marks only the second time that a group outside the Defense Department has identified a missing U.S The German War Grave Commission in 2023 partnered with two American organizations the PFC Lawrence Gordon Foundation and Operation Benjamin to disinter and identify Baskind’s remains which had first been co-mingled in a mass grave in Cherbourg “I am profoundly thankful for the extraordinary lengths that all of those groups have gone to do the unbelievable,” Baskind’s great-niece The burial “will be a beautiful day for my uncle.” Baskind survived D-Day but died in a German air force hospital the same day in late June 1944 that he was ambushed and briefly taken prisoner He was buried with others who perished at the facility Baskind was a platoon commander assigned to the 899th Tank Destroyer Battalion he and another soldier were performing reconnaissance on a road junction south of Cherbourg on June 23 when they were ambushed was seriously wounded but made it back to the unit Baskind was reportedly taken to the German military hospital the Germans filed a death and burial report for Baskind a Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency statement said May 10 The report said he had died while being treated in an air force hospital at Cherbourg He was buried in a local military cemetery disinterred remains of what it believed to be 24 Germans from a mass grave in Cherbourg His name was put on a plaque when all the remains were reinterred in another mass grave at the Marigny German War Cemetery in Thereval Baskind’s burial site was a well-known secret among tour guides and researchers operating in the area director of the PFC Lawrence Gordon Foundation which ultimately identified Baskind’s remains The move to disinter and identify Baskind began to pick up steam last year after another U.S.-based nonprofit successfully lobbied the German ambassador to Israel The Germans chose to work with the Gordon Foundation and not the U.S government because they had no open line of communication with DPAA and were familiar with Henry Henry helped the French and Germans identify Gordon who was buried as an unknown in a German cemetery in France Henry believes the Germans chose to work with him on Baskind because they were pressing to complete the task quickly “They wanted this done by D-Day,” Henry said “DPAA is never going to get results that fast.” In a response Tuesday to a request for comment a DPAA spokeswoman didn’t specifically address Henry’s remarks a forensic odontologist and DNA firm Bode Technology they disinterred 52 sets of remains from the consolidated mass grave at the Marigny German War Cemetery The grave contained the 24 sets of remains from the original site in Cherbourg and although the remains were severely degraded Bode identified a femur and a humerus using DNA comparison the identification took three months and cost around $50,000 Baskind’s remains were carried into the base chapel with a folded American flag resting on top They were handed over to Army mortuary affairs a Jewish chaplain with the 86th Airlift Wing provided an invocation while German and U.S The remains were then carried to a waiting hearse he hasn’t been laid to rest,” Operation Benjamin chief historian Shalom Lamm said after the ceremony “It was just a matter of finding that needle in the haystack Baskind will be reburied on June 23 at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in Colleville-sur-Mer 2022Ukrainian servicemen shoot a SPG-9 recoilless gun during training in Kharkiv region military is now offering medical care to wounded Ukrainian troops at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on June 29 signed guidance allowing Landstuhl to treat up to 18 Ukrainian service members at a time according to a Joint Staff memo that Military Times obtained on Monday News outlets including CNN and the Washington Post independently confirmed the contents of the memo Spokespeople for the Office of the Secretary of Defense did not respond to a request for comment from Military Times on Tuesday Landstuhl Regional Medical Center recognized the crucial contributions of medical professionals during National Nurses Week from May 6-12 (Marcy Sanchez/Army)“Landstuhl Regional Medical Center has not provided any medical treatment to Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel,” U.S “Landstuhl Regional Medical Center remains postured and ready to support U.S NATO member countries and others as directed.” Austin first proposed the idea in May and put it in writing about a month later Members of Congress in April urged the Pentagon to take that step to alleviate some of the workload on European hospitals Landstuhl became known as the medical hub for U.S and allied troops who were wounded throughout the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan the Pentagon doesn’t typically allow combatants from a war in which the U.S is not directly involved to access American medical facilities Landstuhl is the largest American-run hospital outside of the U.S and the only such facility in Europe that offers a full range of specialty care plus troops from more than 50 foreign militaries who were hurt while serving in Afghanistan Africa and the rest of the Middle East and Southwest Asia 2 Americans, including a veteran, killed while fighting in UkraineThey were killed in a Russian ambush in the Donbas region alongside two other foreign fighters according to a Ukrainian commander.By Lee Brown New York PostThe Pentagon does make exceptions for people other than U.S and allied troops to seek care at Landstuhl Those situations include natural disasters or when another country can’t provide the lifesaving care someone needs a former deputy assistant secretary of defense for European and NATO policy who is now at the Center for a New American Security Treating wounded Ukrainians would bolster the underdog military’s morale as it begins its sixth month of war with Russia “If you know that you’re going to potentially be taken to Landstuhl or somewhere else to be taken care of if you’re wounded that gives you a lot more confidence in battle … It’s a big deal for folks on the ground,” he said It’s unclear how wounded Ukrainians would travel hundreds of miles to western Germany Townsend believes they could return to Germany on the same trains that are bringing combat materiel into Poland before they cross the border into Ukraine They may also be medically evacuated from a neighboring country US rocket system enables Ukraine to strike key supply bridgeUkrainian forces used U.S.-supplied HIMARS multiple rocket launchers to target the bridge,“A train fitted out as a hospital would bring patients over that wouldn’t necessarily need something immediately but might need plastic surgery to their face or [need] some type of intricate surgery to remove shrapnel,” Townsend said More than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians have been wounded or killed in attacks following Russia’s invasion on Feb That is about as many in the past five months as were tallied in the five years after Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014 About 5,200 of them have died since February The government in Kyiv said in June that 100 to 200 Ukrainian troops were dying daily Landstuhl may agree to bring in more than 18 patients as they get a feel for how treating Ukrainians will stretch their current capacity Townsend doubts that healing Ukrainians will do much to further provoke Russia and its allies against continuing to provide weapons to Ukraine But he praised the decision to offer medical help as a step toward finding ways for more people across the continent to pitch in they might open up their hospitals as well,” he said involvement in the war has steadily increased since Russia invaded The Biden administration has sent $8 billion in security assistance to Ukraine though the country has sought longer range weapons that the U.S has also argued in recent days that the U.S should also send advisers to the war-torn country a move Moscow may view as a significant escalation ”I don’t think anybody is advocating for any [American] military on the front line, but helping with logistics, planning those operations, integrating the intelligence is incredibly important right now,” Waltz told Fox News Rachel Cohen is the editor of Air Force Times She joined the publication as its senior reporter in March 2021 Her work has appeared in the Washington Post Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker This work, TCF Landstuhl’s facility provides enhanced communications options to warfighters, by Candy C Knight, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright Germany — More surgical and specialty clinics at the U.S military’s largest hospital overseas are opening their doors to civilian employees and retirees as well as family members of both groups Landstuhl Regional Medical Center announced this month that it was opening surgery to all Defense Department beneficiaries and their family members eligible contractors and other DOD civilians Many specialty and surgical services have been available for some time to non-active-duty patients and their families when space is available But those services “are more sustainable now then they have been in the past,” with surgical capabilities consistently available “We didn’t want to announce we’re open and then not be able to sustain it,” Sanchez said first-served basis until appointments for the month are filled the only surgical procedures with limited availability are in the fields of optometry nose and throat are among the options available to all eligible patients The only caveat: Follow-up care beyond post-surgery recovery The hospital has expanded access in recent months because of a decrease in combat operations across the military commands LRMC serves in Europe Opening services to a broader population increases the caseload for surgeons so they can maintain their skills non-active-duty patients must have a referral by their physician or medical provider Referrals by German health care professionals are allowed Access to surgery and other specialty care at LRMC may fluctuate from month to month based on staffing and military operations access to the hospital’s specialty medicine clinics is limited with seven of 12 currently unavailable to civilians and retirees and their families hematology and allergy and immunology — are seeing only active-duty patients now according to the hospital’s monthly specialty appointment availability list All radiology departments with the exception of ultrasound are open to everyone The internal medicine clinic sees civilians retirees and their family members on a space-available basis.