AMC Commander travels to Pacific, emphasizes AMC's role

By AMC Public AffairsApril 16, 2014

Gen. Dennis L. Via speaks at AUSA LANPAC
1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Gen. Dennis L. Via speaks about AMC�'s role in the Pacific at the Association of the United States Army Land Forces of the Pacific Symposium and Exposition April 10 at the Sheraton Waikiki. LANPAC highlights the importance of land forces ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Logistics leaders
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As the Army shifts its focus to the Asia-Pacific region, Army Materiel Command assets there continue to support commanders and warfighters.

During a recent nine day visit to installations across the Pacific Command area of operations, AMC Commander Gen. Dennis L. Via visited local national, defense, Army and AMC organizations in Korea, Hawaii and Washington.

Via's visit culminated with his April 10 attendance at the Association of the United States Army's Institute of Land Warfare, 2014 Land Forces of the Pacific Symposium and Exposition in Hawaii.

"AMC has long had a robust presence in the PACOM theater. They are all here to support your mission," Via told attendees.

That Pacific presence includes two Army Field Support Brigades, two Contracting Support Brigades, and a Transportation Brigade in PACOM, comprised of 266 military personnel, more than 1,800 Department of the Army civilians, and nearly 1,900 contractors.

The support brigades serve as AMC's "face to the field," executing theater-wide logistics operations, providing the strategic logistics link from the Industrial Base to the tactical commander and the Soldier in the field.

"The 403rd AFSB, headquartered in Korea and Camp Henry, links Soldiers at the smallest outposts in Korea and Japan to the National Sustainment Base," Via said. In 2015, AMC will also locate a new

AFSB in Hawaii to better align AMC's support to the 9,000-mile wide area of operations.

Regionally-aligned transportation brigades from AMC's Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command also provide support in theater. One of those units, the 599th Transportation Brigade at Wheeler Army Airfield, Hawaii, transported more than 1.9 million metric tons of cargo in support of the PACOM mission in 2013.

AMC also operationally employs two Contracting Support Brigades in the Pacific. Last year, the two CSBs executed nearly $595 million in contracting actions across the Pacific, and provided expeditionary contracting support to 31 PACOM missions and exercises in 26 countries in theater.

One of AMC's primary elements of support to the Pacific is located outside of the region, on the California coast.

"Key to our ability to support the PACOM theater is the Military Ocean Terminal, Concord, or 'MOTCO'," Via said. "What we refer to as the 'munitions doorway' to the Pacific."

MOTCO is the primary seaport for shipping ammunition to the PACOM area of operations, and is the only West Coast facility capable of large-scale containerized ammunition operations required to support theater commands, according to Via.

In addition to providing key transportation support, AMC also plays a major role in the Pacific Command's efforts to building partner capacity, overseeing foreign military sales.

As of the second quarter of this fiscal year, U.S. Army Security Assistance Command has more than 800 open foreign military sales cases in 23 nations in the PACOM theater, with a value of $21.6 billion, Via said.

"These FMS cases not only increase the capacity and interoperability of our allies and partner nations in the region, they help maintain the readiness of the Army's Organic Industrial Base by maintaining critical skill sets and keeping these facilities operational and ready to support future contingencies," Via said.

"We are executing our reshaping efforts with a firm eye towards our strategic priority of being a globally responsive and regionally engaged Army," Via said.

As the Army begins to align relationships between divisions and Brigade Combat Teams to a particular Combatant Command, Via believes AMC is well prepared.

"AMC remains firmly committed to our key role in providing the level of readiness required for our Army to continue to be the best trained, best led, and best equipped fighting force the world has ever known."

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