129 Years of Family Serving Family: Wilfried ‘Willy’ Rech, Europe Region

One in a series honoring the Exchange’s 129 years of family serving family.

Who he is: Wilfried “Willy” Rech, Exchange Chief, German & International Law Branch

Years with the Exchange: 36 years, retiring July 31

What brought him to the Exchange: Rech, a German local national, started working for the U.S. Air Force at Ramstein Air Base in 1987 as management advisor at the civilian personnel office. “So after a year there, I started to look for other promising job positions and stumbled on a job opening for a personnel management specialist” at the Exchange’s Europe headquarters in Munich in 1988, Rech said. “The Exchange offered me an interesting job and the location—Munich compared to Ramstein—made the decision easy.”

What he did at first: “I was with the Exchange in Personnel for roughly a year when the position of the legal advisor in the Office of the General Counsel became vacant. I applied, got the job and have maintained the position since then. My family and I had to move several times since the Exchange’s Europe headquarters was relocated from Munich to Zirndorf (Nuremberg area) in 1993, from Zirndorf to Mainz-Kastel in 1995, and from Mainz-Kastel to Sembach in 2014.

“In the early days the biggest part of my job involved employment law. Later the scope of functions broadened substantially; covering nearly all areas of law, in principle.”

Witnessing history: “I grew up in Bad Harzburg (northern Germany near Hannover), about seven kilometers away from the Iron Curtain. We had family on the other side. We could visit them, although it was difficult, but they had no way to get out. I had just started working for the Exchange when the wall fell, and Germany was united again.”

Memorable moments: Rech was instrumental in helping institute the Exchange ESSO tax-free fuel ration card in 2008 that allows U.S. military members in Germany to purchase gasoline tax-free—a huge benefit in a country where the tax can nearly double the price per gallon. “The administrative agreement that fell under the original Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) replaced the outdated coupon system for fuel rations with a credit-card-type system. This was a massive international legal hurdle that took more than 10 years and resulted from the work of our Exchange legal team and fuel team that made it happen for all SOFA recipients in Germany.”

Best part of working for the Exchange: “It’s the people and mission. I’m ending my career on a high note on an active, funny and somewhat outspoken team that I admire. Over the years, I also had the opportunity to build relations with a wide range of colleagues working for the military across Europe. I’ve also had the chance to travel to Belgium, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Italy.”

Family serving family: “In my capacity as a lawyer at the Exchange, I’ve had the privilege of providing legal guidance to our extended family—the military community,” Rech said. “It’s been deeply fulfilling to support our service members and their families, aligning with the core values of the U.S. military—taking care of our own. Looking back on my career, I leave with a sense of pride in contributing to this ethos of family serving family that defines the Exchange.”