Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany at dusk. Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, is questioning the Defense Health Agency’s practices related to hiring qualified military spouses at LRMC, the Pentagon’s largest overseas medical center. (Facebook/Landstuhl Regional Medical Center)

NAPLES, Italy — A U.S. lawmaker wants to know whether the Pentagon’s largest overseas medical center 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 seeks specific information about 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. in which he requested recruitment data from LRMC. during the last five years.

Pfluger also requested information on how the agency is prioritizing military spouses for hiring, as well as compensation data for spouses working in full- or part-time positions at military medical facilities around the world, 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 are making their decisions,” said Pfluger, a second-term representative. who served 20 years in the Air Force as a pilot and is now a colonel in the Air Force Reserve.

Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, is asking the Defense Health Agency whether military spouses with medical credentials are being passed over for health care jobs at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. (August Pfluger)

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

The letter echoes decades of frustration by military spouses who say they are forced to give up their high-paying jobs when their family is sent overseas. Due to a multinational pact, most have few employment opportunities when living in Europe.

As a result, many military families must live on one income, dip into savings and sometimes rely on a Department of Defense supplemental food program to make ends meet.

There have been some improvements. For example, recent agreements reached in Italy and Spain now allow U.S. military spouses living in those countries to work remotely for their U.S. employers.

That change came after years of policy that prohibited the practice unless a military spouse waived the rights and protections afforded them by the NATO Status of Forces Agreement.

But problems persist. The situation has helped create a source of highly skilled, cheap (and in many cases free) labor exploited by military hospitals and other grassroots organizations. according to a Stars and Stripes investigation last year.

For example, military spouses who are nurses, physical therapists or other medical professionals said they were encouraged to dedicate up to 40 hours a week to the Red Cross or other organizations in the hope that doing so would lead to a paid position.

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

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

However, a June 2023 White House directive directing federal agencies to develop a strategic plan for recruiting 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, he said.

“This is filling the gaps that they have in their overseas facilities,” said Conlin, who chairs the board of the Military Spouses Chamber of Commerce and YoHe is an advisor for Blue Star Families. “This is employing military families and improving care for those who go to those facilities.”

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

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

“We will 100 percent pursue any type of change in the law if we find that that is not the case and that hiring practices favor others (over) spouses,” he said.