IT specialist always on the go

WIESBADEN, Germany – If you’re ever in the Installation Management Command-Europe headquarters building here and feel a brisk wind across your back or catch a glimpse of a blurry, fleeting form in your peripheral vision, don’t worry… that’s just Nick.
He’s not a ghost, per se, but he appears and vanishes so quickly, sometimes the only way one might be sure he was even there is the sound of his distinctive footsteps rapidly fading in the distance.
Nicholas Maurer is a man in constant motion, which makes sense when he cites the most challenging part of his job is “trying to be three places at once.”
That job as “the all-in-one” information technology specialist is varied: “I play the roles of help desk agent, Telephone Control Office, Information Management Officer, Technical Lead for the IMCOM-E contractor team, PKI Trusted Agent, IT onboarding/trainer, and maybe a couple more I’m forgetting.”
But for folks who need his special skills, he’s most well known as the go-to person to fix any computer, printer or government phone issues that randomly pop up on a daily basis… in fact, it’s not uncommon to hear the echoing strains from a chorus of desperate voices shouting over cubicles and down hallways with a pleading refrain of “Niiiiiiiiiiiick!!!”
“He’s definitely in high demand and pulled in every direction, but he never gets frustrated and is always willing to help where and when needed,” said Annemieke Anderson, G-6 project manager. “His expertise on all things IT-related helps keep the mission moving forward.”
“I think of it in wild west terms,” Maurer said.“Computers are the horses everyone rides daily to get work done.I just so happen to be a stablemaster.My team and I are the go-to group when people’s most valuable work resource goes belly up.”
That responsibility “adds a bit of gravity to our positions,” he added.“I like the atmosphere at IMCOM-E, professional but not stuffy.And the smiles and genuine gratitude I get when I turn someone’s day around…that’s nice too.”
Maurer has been helping the Army family since 1998, when he got a non-appropriated funds position as a greenskeeper at the Bavarian Hills Golf Course in Augsburg. The following year he moved into the IT field and began working with fellow long-time IMCOM-E IT professionals Anderson and Guido Ebert.
He took a break from 2013-2016 to pursue his musical interests playing live electronic dance music in clubs as a guitarist, drummer, pianist and vocalist in several different bands, as well as touring as a solo artist and doing some DJ gigs.
His musical journeys took him to Asia, Australia, Europe and North America, but ultimately the Wheaton, Ill., native found himself back in Germany and returning to the IT fold.
“I am very thankful for when I am in my career,” he said, “and appreciate my team and Army colleagues for being such an enjoyable, personable bunch. I enjoy crossing paths with amazing personalities that I probably would not encounter in other IT environments and learning new technologies that add to my arsenal of IT skills.”