SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany -- The 52nd Fighter Wing legal office won U.S. Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa Outstanding Legal Office of the Year, for their accomplishments in 2018, at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany.
Spangdahlem’s legal team, consisting of American and German legal experts, competed against eight other offices.
“I could not be prouder of our team, this is a great recognition,” said Lt. Col. Patricia Wiegman-Lenz, 52nd Fighter Wing staff judge advocate. “We had many outreach efforts, handled high profile cases and have fantastic leadership who support us 100 percent.”
Spangdahlem is the second team to win this award, with the Aviano Air Base legal office in Italy winning the inaugural award last year.
“This award is affirmation of the good work we already know we’re doing,” said Capt. Tyler Washburn, 52nd FW chief of legal assistance. “We have the best legal assistance program in USAFE and will continue to be innovative.”
The Spangdahlem legal office provided support for over 2,000 clients in 2018 for a variety of legal situations and hosted a volunteer-led tax program, helping Spangdahlem Airman and families receive over $1 million in tax refunds last year.
Other accomplishments include training host nation prosecutors on military justice and saving Spangdahlem Airmen approximately $390,000 for legal services provided.
“It is a point of pride to be at our best always,” said Staff Sgt. Brittany Recob, 52d FW NCO-in-charge of military justice. “We have done so much to improve our processes and streamline the workload, but we will continue to get better and build on our amazing work our team has already done.”