From left, Nathan Rowland, director of Public Works for U.S. Army Garrison Benelux; Col. James Yastrzemsky, USAG Benelux commander; and Col. Kathy Spangler, SHAPE and Brussels health care facilities commander, listen to members of the SHAPE International Band play a Christmas song during the Dec. 4, 2020 Coffee with the Commander. (Video still by U.S. Army Garrison Benelux Public Affairs Office)

Notes from Coffee with the Commander for Dec. 4, 2020

CHIÈVRES, Belgium – Col. James R. Yastrzemsky, commander of U.S. Army Garrison Benelux, hosted “Coffee with the Commander,” an online town hall event, Dec. 4 at the garrison headquarters at Chièvres Air Base.

He was joined by Col. Kathy Spangler, commander of the SHAPE, Belgium and Brussels health care facilities; Nathan Rowland, the director of Public Works for the garrison; Staff Sgt. Miguel Davis, pianist for the SHAPE International Band; and Air Force Master Sgt. Rebecca Wischmann, vocalist for the SHAPE International Band.

Several other participants joined by telephone in the garrison headquarter’s Resiliency Room, which members of the Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation had decorated in the spirit of the holiday season.

Wischmann and Davis played “Jingle Bells” to open the event.

Below are the notes from the town hall.

 

 

Yastrzemsky began by asking the audience to get in virtual touch with Family and friends during a holiday season when physical distancing is a necessity due to COVID-19 prevention measures.

Yastrzemsky relayed the good news locally concerning COVID-19, that there were downward trends in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. Nevertheless, he urged the audience to remain cautious and perform prevention measures, including wearing masks, washing hands and watching distance between people.

In Belgium, non-essential stores were reopened, but with the limit of one adult shopper and a maximum of 30 minutes in a store. The one customer per 10 square meters remains in effect.

An update from the Dutch government is forthcoming. All new COVID-19 information will be posted to https://home.army.mil/benelux/index.php/my-fort/coronavirus-information as soon as it is available.

Spangler followed Yastrzemsky to talk further about COVID-19 prevention and the upcoming flu season.

She wanted to make sure that everyone know that individuals in the high-risk category are going to receive the flu vaccine first, including immunocompromised individual, individuals over 65, expecting mothers, and the very young.

Kindergarten through fifth grade students can receive flu vaccinations Dec. 5. At Brussels, flu vaccinations are taking place next week for Kindergarten through fifth grade.

The SHAPE Healthcare Clinic will be mirroring SHAPE in adjusting their holiday hours. So from Dec. 21 through 31, their operational hours will be 8 a.m. to noon. The clinic will naturally be closed the federal holidays Dec. 25 and Jan. 1. The clinic will resume normal service Jan. 4.

 

 

Yastrzemsky moved the conversation to the projects taking place at Chièvres Air Base and throughout USAG Benelux.

Rowland, as director of Public Works, talked over what had been recently finished such as the repaving and restriping of the parking lot at the Post Exchange and Commissary, as well as the current projects, like the installation of a new roundabout near Gate 14. Most of that work Rowland expects to be finished this next summer.

The roundabout and a lot of the other road construction, according to Rowland, is to set the stage for on-post Family housing between October 2024 and September 2025, a first for Chièvres Air Base.

Yastrzemsky said that this was about turning USAG Benelux into a community of choice in Europe.

Other projects included adding median strips to the roads at Chièvres, which help keep drivers safer. DPW is also repairing and upgrading the barbecue pavilion at the barracks and installing solar filter and blackout curtains. They will add parking spaces to the on-post lodging. They are also finishing repainting the fitness center. Also, DPW has planned a static display on post.

There is also work going on at the Army Prepositioned Stock sites at Eygelshoven, Zutendaal and Dülmen as well as works and projects at the other garrison locations.

Yastrzemsky brought up the beautification initiative that has been taking place at Chièvres, the Brussels community and the tri-border community at Brunssum.

 

 

Francisca Slayton with the Housing Division of DPW followed Rowland’s segment.

In addition to recounting improvements being made to Family and service member housing – offering plants and gardening equipment to residents of Family housing, barracks improvements Rowland discussed – Slayton asked everyone living in Family housing to take the Tenant Satisfaction Survey OBM 0704-0553. Links to the survey will be sent to residents by email.

Finally, Slayton recommended that residents who need to make a work order should call DSN 597-5000 or civilian +32(0)68-25-5000. For after duty emergency work orders, residents need to call their local MP desks.

Yastrzemsky further asked residents to provide their feedback so that the garrison can improve their service to the community.

More information from the Housing Services Office is available at https://home.army.mil/benelux/index.php/about/Garrison/directorate-public-works/housing-services-office.

 

 

Kent Worford, the superintendent of the Department of Defense Education Activity – Europe, West District, followed the housing segment, and, as schools are soon to enter winter break, he urged parents and guardians to follow host nation guidance concerning travel so as not to unnecessarily risk the further spread of COVID-19.

Sports will be further delayed until January, in accord with host nation laws and guidance.

Worford also said that holiday events will only occur at school and specifically in a classroom setting. There will not be community holiday events organized by the schools.

 

 

Stacy Perez, the director of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation followed.

Perez began by introducing the multi-faceted Winterfest, a more-than-monthlong celebration that includes large-scale holiday cards that Families and military units may adopt and decorate as their own now through Dec. 21, a scavenger hunt taking place Dec. 4 through 25, Letters to Santa Dec. 4 through 18, “A Very Virtual Holiday” Dec. 11 at 6 p.m., holiday contests Dec. 22 through Jan. 4 including cash prizes, and the online reading of a holiday classic Dec. 24.

For more on Winterfest, visit https://chievres.armymwr.com/calendar/event/winterfest-activities/4825664/54624.

Yastrzemsky also mentioned that they are working to make the fitness centers on post 24-hour facilities. The garrison team is working to get final approvals to make that happen with a lot of sanitation measures and personal responsibility by the fitness center users.

 

 

Yvette Castro, the director of Human Resources, and Clint Strutt, the chief of Army Community Services, joined the town hall by phone next.

Family Advocacy Program is putting on virtual training events, including classes on emotional regulation, holiday stress, and coping with isolation and winter darkness. For more on the Family Advocacy Program, visit https://home.army.mil/benelux/index.php/about/Garrison/directorate-human-resources/army-community-service/family-advocacy-program.

Castro also talked about Operation Better Together, which is the garrison’s workforce development initiative, which includes learning sessions for employees, mentorship, and a programmatic job exchange.

Strutt talked about setting a goal of not letting COVID-19 keep community members from connecting with each other, including having virtual events, going on walks according to host nation regulations, and more.

For more on ACS, visit https://home.army.mil/benelux/index.php/about/Garrison/directorate-human-resources/army-community-service.

 

 

Lori Maggard, manager for the Post Exchange, began by thanking shoppers for following COVID-19 prevention measures.

Approximately two thirds of profits are contributed to quality of life funds for service members. She highlighted some of the offers available, some of which can be found on the Digital Garrison app.

Customers can donate to the Army Emergency Relief fund when making purchases.

Commissary gift cards are now available for gift giving.

 

 

Marie-Lise Baneton, public affairs officer for the garrison, talked about the local holiday tradition of Saint Nicholas, whose day is celebrated Dec. 6 in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and France.

The tradition is similar to the Santa Claus of American tradition, wherein Saint Nicholas rewards good behavior. In the tradition, Saint Nicholas rides a donkey, and Families will put out carrots to feed the donkey. When Saint Nicholas visits, he rewards good behaviors with gifts.

 

 

Yastrzesmsky closed out with a challenge for the community:

“Stay kind, help each other out, make a connection, love one another, and make a difference for one person.”

He also asked the following trivia question: Who was Renée Lemaire?

Wischmann and Davis closed out with the holiday classic “Deck the Halls”.

 

 

The next town hall is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 18. More details will be available on the garrison Facebook page.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

U.S. Army Garrison Benelux Public Affairs Office