127 Years of Family Serving Family: Diana Krieger, Aviano Air Base
One in a series honoring the Exchange’s 127 years of family serving family.
Who she is: Diana Krieger, Main Store Manager, Aviano AB, Italy
Years with the Exchange: 32 years
What brought her to the Exchange: “Being born into a military family, I knew working for the Exchange is what I wanted to do.”
Where she’s worked: McNair Barracks in Berlin; USAG Baumholder; Bitburg, Germany; Fort Detrick; Fort Meade; Buckley AFB; Ellsworth AFB; Joint Base Lewis-McChord; Aviano AB. In 2009, Krieger deployed to Mosul, Iraq, serving as a store manager during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Krieger worked at Fort Bliss, Texas after her deployment.
What she did at first: Worked as a vendor for Estée Lauder in the McNair Barracks main store in Berlin from 1986 to 1991.
Why she likes working at the Exchange: “As a team, we solve for ‘yes’ by providing the best customer shopping experience. We care, share life experiences with customers that bridge the diversity of who we are. We enjoy those connections and bonds that help while supporting Quality-of-Life programs for our installation family.”
Military connections: Krieger’s late father, Herbert “Herbie” F. Black, served 30 years in the Army, including in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. He was awarded two Silver Star Medals and a Purple Heart for heroic actions in World War II.
Black served in the 63rd Infantry Division in 1945 and earned two Silver Star medals for disabling a German tank despite suffering multiple wounds in combat. Black’s unit also fought German forces across Germany and liberated Kaufering concentration camp, the largest subcamp of the notorious Dachau complex.
Black also earned two Bronze Stars with Oak Leaf Clusters for saving fellow troops by taking out enemy stronghold positions. Krieger’s brother, Richard Black, served three years in the Army.
Exchange connections: Krieger met her husband of 42 years, Paul, in 1980 before working for Estée Lauder at the Exchange. Paul served 25 years with the Exchange as sales area manager and in Loss Prevention, retiring in 2011. Krieger’s mother worked at the Exchange bookstore in Berlin and later moved to the main store as a Hallmark card vendor. Krieger’s daughter, Jennifer, worked as a customer experience associate at the USAG Baumholder main store. After Krieger’s father retired from the military, he briefly worked at the Foodland in Berlin.
Memorable moments: “My proudest moment was when I deployed to Iraq in 2009. It was an experience of a lifetime that I will never forget. Working with associates from across the world, sharing cultures and traditions, was a special bond—embracing together the mission of serving downrange and being united as one.
“Another thing I’ll always remember was feeling close to my father and understanding what he experienced in the military. While flying in a Blackhawk behind the gunner is when I felt my dad near, and the emotional connectivity and the flashback of times as a child to understand then what my dad experienced in the military. Still gives me chills today.”
Krieger also vividly remembers the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. She recalls sitting in her living room, watching television when her sister called her to tell her the news. Krieger turned on the news channel to see Germans chipping away at the wall and running across the border. “It became very commercialized,” Krieger said. “Many people began selling pieces of the wall and selling T-shirts.” Krieger recalls East Germans receiving a stipend of 100 Deutsche marks from the banks to spend in West German grocery and retail stores.
Family serving family: “Being the youngest of five in a military family, I knew I made it a life commitment to not only serve in my parents’ honor but to serve the military and Exchange family. I am so grateful to the Exchange for the opportunity and benefits awarded to me. I put my nametag on every day not only as a proud Army daughter but that of an Exchange leader making a difference to all our shoppers and their families.”
