Congressman investigates hiring practices of military spouses at Landstuhl and other hospitals

NAPLES, Italy — A U.S. lawmaker wants to know whether the Pentagon’s largest overseas medical facility is denying employment to qualified military spouses in favor of local applicants in Germany.

In a letter last month, Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, questioned the Defense Health Agency’s hiring practices at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center.

The letter is addressed to DHA Director Lt. Gen. Telita Crosland and requests information specific to the Department of Defense hospital near Kaiserslautern, Germany.

Instead of being hired, military spouses are often referred to volunteer for the American Red Cross and “essentially perform the duties and responsibilities of a physician … without financial compensation,” Pfluger wrote in the Oct. 8 letter, which requested the hiring data from LRMC was asked. for the past five years.

Pfluger also requested information on how the service is prioritizing military spouses in hiring, as well as compensation data for spouses who work full- or part-time at military medical facilities worldwide, among other information.

“If they are actually prioritizing people other than fully qualified spouses, then we want to know what those practices are, what the priority list looks like and how they make their decisions,” said Pfluger, a second-term representative. who served as a pilot in the Air Force for twenty years and is now a colonel in the Air Force Reserve.

A DHA spokesperson confirmed receipt of the letter but said the agency could not answer questions without first formally responding to Pfluger.

The letter reflects decades of frustration among military spouses who say they are forced to leave high-paying jobs when their families are deployed overseas. Due to a multinational pact, most have little employment opportunities while living in Europe.

As a result, many military families must live on one income, build up savings and sometimes rely on a Department of Defense Supplemental Food Program to make ends meet.

Some improvements have been made. Recent agreements were made, for example, in Italy And Spain now allow U.S. military spouses living in those countries to work remotely for their U.S. employers.

That change followed years of policy that prohibited the practice unless a military spouse waived the rights and protections afforded to him by NATO’s Status of Forces Agreement.

But the problems remain. The situation has helped create a pipeline of highly skilled, cheap – and in many cases free – labor that is exploited by military hospitals and other grassroots organizations. a Stars and Stripes survey from last year found.

For example, military spouses who are nurses, physical therapists or other medical professionals said they were encouraged to donate as many as 40 hours a week to the Red Cross or other organizations in the hope that it could lead to eventual gainful employment.

In Germany, these professionals saved LRMC more than $600,000 in unpaid labor, according to Red Cross figures in 2023.

Asking qualified military spouses to offer their medical skills for free is not only unacceptable, but frustrating, said attorney Beth Conlin.

However, a June 2023 White House directive directing federal agencies to develop a strategic plan for hiring and retaining military spouses is empowering, she said.

With that power, spouses can better advocate for themselves, ask a hiring manager directly about employment practices and ask what is being done to comply with the order, Conlin said.

Still, the DHA should be more proactive in hiring military spouses, which would benefit everyone, she said.

“This fills the gaps they have in their facilities abroad,” said Conlin, chairman of the board of the Military Spouse Chamber of Commerce and iis an advisor for Blue Star Families. “This is where military families are employed, and this improves care for those who go to these facilities.”

Pfluger said he wrote the letter after hearing about the recent experience of a military spouse who wanted to work at LRMC, as well as stories from others facing similar situations.

When the DHA responds, Pfluger’s office will review the data and evaluate its compliance with federal mandates, he said.

“One hundred percent, we will pursue any kind of change in the law if we find that that is not the case and that hiring practices favor others (over) spouses,” he said.