USAG Wiesbaden ends 2024 AER campaign ranked first in Europe for second year running

WIESBADEN, Germany - U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden ended the 2023 Army Emergency Relief campaign as the top military installation in Europe, and Army-wide in the small installation category.

USAG Wiesbaden, once again, reached new heights during the AER 2024 campaign even after moving to a new category.

Garrison commander Col. Troy Danderson, who recently took command in June, gave remarks and recognized the hard work of many of the AER teammates during a ceremony, held at the community activities center on Clak Kaserne on July 17, and marked the end of the garrison's 2024 AER campaign.

"On behalf of myself, Command Sgt. Maj. [Yves] Pamphil, the entire garrison team and the Wiesbaden community I just wanted to say thank you so much," said Danderson.

Leading the way

Undaunted by the challenge of moving to a larger size installation category the USAG Wiesbaden answered the call.

Collectively the military community, comprised of Soldiers, Army families, retirees, veterans and Department of the Army civilians, opened their pockets donating $100,000 to support those seeking assistance through AER.

This year's contributions represent an unprecedented amount of donations and set a new standard for the historically generous garrison population.

Getting the word out

Donations don't fill coffers, and goals aren't reached without the efforts of a dedicated team laboring behind the scenes, telling the AER story and seeking contributions.

"Our goal is to inform 100% of the garrison population about AER and how funds are used to support the Soldier," said USAG Wiesbaden AER Officer Briana Johnson.

At the core of the community's AER success is the unit representatives who are the backbone of the campaign each year, Johnson added.

Coordinating and directing the campaign is a major portion of her role as the AER officer.

Tenant unit representatives are the backbone of the annual AER drive, without their diligence the garrison's climb to success would be more of an uphill challenge.

Training the AER representatives, accounting for money collected, tracking Soldier participation, submitting expense reports for fundraising events and coordinating both open and closing ceremonies are some of Johnson's key tasks associated with her role as the Wiesbaden AER campaign officer.

It is the efforts of a cohesive team that fosters the level of success, and Johnson, builds that team through training, guiding and encouraging the campaign coordination team and the unit representatives.

Team members such as Sgt. Abneris Reyes.

Reyes who is the AER unit representative for Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 24th Military Intelligence Battalion, helped spread the word and was able to raise more than $9,700 in donations from that organization.

The 24th MI Battalion contributed more money than any other unit in the Wiesbaden military community.

"[The unit representatives], they are our core, as long as they believe they can raise funds, they will raise funds [and] I celebrate every victory they had - large or small," said Johnson.

Answering the call

Johnson and her team asked and the USAG Wiesbaden population responded in an unparalleled manner to raise an amount of support never achieved in this community before.

If there was a glass ceiling, it would have been shattered.

"It means a lot when (…) $87,000 out of that $100,000 that was raised was because of our active-duty force," Danderson said in his remarks.

Soldiers helping Soldiers can be considered one of AER's fundamental themes.

"That is a tremendous amount of giving (…) it says so much about those of you [unit representatives] here."

Command Sgt. Maj. Pamphil was also recognized for his contributions to AER. He ran more than 300 miles and collected more than $1,200 from individuals who pledged their support to his running campaign on behalf of AER.

Garrison's success can be attributed to the work done by Johnson and her team of tenant unit AER representatives; however, it is does not come without a small twinge of frustration for Johnson.

"We raised almost three times the amount of money as we did last year, and we didn't win 1st place."

Earning the top spot in Europe and third place Army-wide in a larger category is certainly, no small feat.

"[We] just continue to do our best."

With its pattern of success the last two years, USAG Wiesbaden is well established on the AER map of who's who.

Helping those in need

Since January, USAG Wiesbaden has disbursed more than $162,000 to 56 servicemembers this year, including assisting one Soldier who needed assistance to fly his family of nine to Tonga.

"AER is instrumental in getting Soldiers home in times of tragedy and we were able to assist this Soldier with more than $25,000," said Johnson.

Capt. Hemaloto Tatafu and his eight family members - who are of Tongan descent - were able to reunite with his mother before taking her last breaths.

Supported by his unit, the 2nd Miliary Intelligence Battalion, combined together with a grant and an interest-free loan from AER, the Soldier was reunited with his loved one before her passing.

"To everyone who has donated to AER, thank you... for making it possible for us to enjoy those special moments with my family. Malo'Aupito," said Capt. Tatafu

To watch Tatafu's story and hear how generous AER contributions from the Wiesbaden community helped reunite he and the members of his family with his mother.

Click the army.mil link: https://www.dvidshub.net/video/918824/cpt-hemaloto-tatafu-army-emergency-relief-story

Each year the AER campaign inspires and encourages others, as part of their annual fund-raising campaign, to help support others through charitable donations. AER has more than 30 Categories of Assistance.

The official end to this year's campaign was June 14. However, those who want to contribute, or want more information, can visit their Army Emergency Relief or the AER website: armyemergencyrelief.org.

You can read more about USAG Wiesbaden's award winning 2023 AER campaign by visiting the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS): https://www.dvidshub.net/news/439553/wiesbaden-garrison-commander-kicks-off-2023-aer-campaign, or by visiting here:

https://www.armyemergencyrelief.org/news/award-winning-aer-officer-shares-passion-for-helping-soldiers-army-families/

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