By Balmina Sehra
USAG Stuttgart Public Affairs
STUTTGART, Germany — U.S. Army Garrison Stuttgart leadership and key mission partners assembled at the Panzer Firehouse in Böblingen for the annual Real Property Planning Board (RPPB) on April 23.
The RPPB is a U.S. Army Garrison forum used to develop and manage installation real property to support mission readiness. It provides details on how the garrison has used its budget the previous year and what projects it plans for the year ahead.
The meeting, hosted by USAG Stuttgart Commander Col. Edward J. Sanford, was attended by chiefs of staffs from tenant units within the Stuttgart military community, as well as various other key mission and service delivery partners.
“This team measures its success by how effectively we serve our commands that we support and how well we take care of our service members, civilians, families and our local national workforce,” Sanford said.
The discussions during the meeting are important as they address the methods to plan, program, budget, and execute upcoming projects to ensure quality of life and mission readiness. Directors presented plans featuring hundreds of projects ranging from road and roof repairs to security enhancements, playground restorations, and a potential new skatepark.
USAG Stuttgart supports eight locations spread across 100 square miles, including five military posts, a golf course, a furniture warehouse, and a historical villa in downtown Stuttgart.
The key focus of the meeting was reallocating available office space on Panzer Kaserne and future plans to consolidate garrison services from Kelley and Patch Barracks onto Panzer Kaserne. This reallocation creates additional useable office space for the garrison’s tenant units and allows them to better support their missions.
Other priorities include funding the main access control point and other security enhancements at Patch Barracks, Kelley Barracks, Robinson Barracks and Panzer Kaserne.
In addition, Sanford addressed community concerns, specifically about the status of the planned closures of commissaries at Robinson and Kelley Barracks.
“We are advocating to keep commissaries open on Kelley Barracks and Robinson,” Sanford said.
Concluding the meeting, Installation Management Command-Europe chief of staff Wesley Leisinger and Command Sgt. Maj. Christopher Carbone reiterated their support for the Installation Management Command mission and stressed the importance of the garrison’s role in supporting warfighters and their families throughout Europe.