Although U.S. Army Europe officials recently announced Army personnel on permanent change of station orders to Germany will soon fly overseas using the Patriot Express flights originating at the Baltimore/Washington International Airport in Maryland and landing at Ramstein Air Base, the change does not apply to those service members and Defense Department civilian employees headed for Stuttgart.
According to Tracee Quinn, the U.S. Army Garrison Stuttgart’s Military Personnel Division chief, personnel arriving to and departing from Stuttgart must fly into or out of the Stuttgart International Airport. Incoming personnel should be picked up by their unit or agency sponsor at the airport.
Soldiers will no longer travel through Frankfurt and be shuttled to Stuttgart.
She added that this is the current procedure for Stuttgart-based non-USAREUR units and the other services.
“USAREUR sponsors may hear from newcomers that they are being told by their local transportation offices they have to fly to Ramstein, they should reiterate that is not the requirement for Stuttgart,” Quinn said.
Quinn said that measures are in place to publicize the change but initially, “We can expect a few Soldiers to fly into Frankfurt under the current guidance.”
Senior leaders will need to ensure their incoming personnel are on pin-point assignment orders to Stuttgart.
The Air Mobility Command’s Patriot Express service is applicable to USAREUR active duty Soldiers headed for Vilseck, Grafenwöhr, Hohenfels, Schweinfurt, Bamberg, Illesheim, Ansbach, Kaiserslautern, Wiesbaden, Heidelberg and Baumholder.
Questions regarding the Stuttgart policy can be addressed to USAG Stuttgart’s Central Processing manager, Cliff Heisler, at 431-2745.
