In February of 2022, TKS celebrates its 30th year of continuous service to the U.S. military in Europe. To commemorate this milestone TKS will host a series of free giveaways, sales promotions, and events throughout its anniversary year – benefiting service members and the local military communities in Germany.
This year also marks TKS’s 20th year as a corporate sponsor of the United Service Organizations (USO), and its 10th anniversary as an elite USO Worldwide Strategic Partner. As a Worldwide Strategic Partner, TKS has and continues to donate over $500,000 annually in support of TKS and the USO’s cooperative mission of improving the welfare and moral of service members and their families.
Anniversary sales events and special promotions will be announced throughout the year and will be available to ID card holders 18 and over. Additional details about forthcoming events can be obtained at a local TKS shop and will also be announced at the TKSCable Facebook page. TKS shops are located in Exchange facilities across Germany.
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Serving those that serve
TKS was founded in 1992 in cooperation with USEUCOM, the U.S. Army, and the German Ministry for Telecommunications, and at that time was charged with providing American television content as a quality-of-life improvement to service members stationed in Germany.
Over time, the Kaiserslautern-based company has vastly expanded their English-language product offerings and operations and is now an official Exchange Concessionaire for telecommunications, providing telecommunications solutions such as telephone, internet, and mobile phone in Germany and also throughout the entire OCONUS footprint with its easyTV streaming platform. TKS is also the only telco in Germany qualified to provide VAT relief to DOD personnel through its partnership with USEUCOM and the Exchange.
USO partnership
TKS has supported the USO mission as a corporate sponsor since 2002 and has proudly donated over $500,000 annually since 2012 as a USO Worldwide Strategic Partner. Two successive TKS CEOs have furthered their commitment to enhancing the lives of active duty military personnel by also serving on the USO’s Board of Governors since 2007.
In addition to providing the USO with essential telecommunication solutions at their European Headquarters and at USO Centers throughout Germany and across Europe, TKS also has a history of sponsoring various community events throughout the year. And with its highly-agile technical expertise, TKS has been able to rapid-deploy assistance for unplanned military missions, for example:
- Annual TKS sponsorship of the USO Home for the Holidays program for single, junior enlisted service members, annual USO Sun & Fun Day community events, and Super Bowl parties.
- In support of the 2021 humanitarian mission Operation Allies Welcome, TKS CEO Patrick Abram secured an additional $60,000 in funds for use by the USO to provide emergency assistance to service members at Ramstein Air Base.
- Between 2020 - 2021, TKS supported the U.S. Army Europe’s Operation Wilkommen on Rhine Ordnance Barracks by installing and providing free internet at two large warehouse facilities that accommodated over 800 incoming soldiers a day.
- During the September 2012 Non-Combat Evacuation Operation after the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, TKS provided 50 prepaid “burner” phones to all 33 survivors that were processed at Ramstein Air Base.
Over the span of 30 years, TKS has a proven track record of connecting service members and looks forward to its continued partnership with the USO, Exchange, and the with military communities that it proudly serves.