From Fürth to Bamberg to Ansbach, 35 years of transportation support to Soldiers, Families

ANSBACH, Germany - When she first started working for the Army in the late '80s, Claudia Thim was at William O. Darby Kaserne in Fürth, Germany, assigned to a movement control team under the 39th Transportation Battalion. When the kaserne closed in 1995, Thim moved to Bamberg where she continued working for the MCT for 17 more years.

Inevitably though, Bamberg also closed and Thim was uprooted once more. Now at Katterbach Army Airfield in Ansbach for 12 years, Thim is the lead transportation assistant for the Personal Property Processing Office at Logistics Readiness Center Ansbach, 405th Army Field Support Brigade.

"After all these years, I'm Americanized. I'm so used to it, by now," said the 55-year-old German local national employee who will have 35 years working for the Army this November. "I really enjoy helping Soldiers and their Families when they are coming to Germany or leaving Germany. I sometimes even help them when they're gone."

"Many customers call me or write me an email, saying 'Claudia, I'm here in Japan or Claudia, I'm here in the states, but I can't get any help. Can you please help me?' And then I'm trying my best to help them even though it's not my job, anymore," Thim said. "I'm just that way, and they remember that."

Thim manages a team of five transportation assistants at the LRC Ansbach PPPO and is responsible for assisting service members, civilian employees and their families with their inbound and outbound household goods and unaccompanied baggage shipments to and from the U.S. Army Garrison Ansbach community.

This includes Ansbach, Katterbach and Illesheim. The LRC Ansbach PPPO acts as a liaison between the USAG Ansbach community and the moving companies, helping to facilitate the pickup and delivery of household goods and unaccompanied baggage shipments. In addition to this, because the PPPO at LRC Stuttgart is currently shorthanded, Thim assists USAG Stuttgart with shipments remotely, as well.

"I really like my job. Otherwise, I wouldn't be doing it for so long. Working for the U.S. Army is different than working on the German economy. I live 40 minutes away from work, so I commute every day, back and forth, but I don't know how to explain it. I just like it," said Thim, who has a 23-year-old son and lives in Seukendorf, just west of Fürth and Nuremberg.

Thim said she enjoys keeping her customers well informed on all the regulatory guidance, processes and entitlements - anything and everything that pertains to personal property and transportation, Thim is there to support them.

LRC Ansbach is one of eight LRCs under the command and control of the 405th AFSB. LRCs execute installation logistics support and services to include supply, maintenance, transportation, and food service management as well as clothing issue facility operations, hazardous material management, personal property and household goods, passenger travel, property book operations, and non-tactical vehicle and garrison equipment management. When it comes to providing day-to-day installation services, LRC Ansbach directs, manages, and coordinates a variety of operations and activities in support of USAG Ansbach.

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 and the official Facebook site.

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