LEGHORN ARMY DEPOT, Italy - The 3rd Battalion, 405th Army Field Support Brigade supported efforts to contain wildfires in Russia by providing equipment to Russia on Aug. 13. The fire-fighting equipment, including 40 toolkits and 45 chainsaws, was released from the Army Prepositioned Stocks in Italy at the request of the U.S. European Command.
"The U.S. European Command contacted us regarding the release of equipment," explained Lt. Col. Richard Pierce, commander of 3rd Battalion. "We quickly retrieved the equipment from the APS and palletized it for shipment to Russia. Furthermore, we received phenomenal support from the Italian 46th Air Brigade in Pisa. We are proud that we are able to do some small part to help ease the suffering of the Russian people and hopefully assist with resolving this catastrophe."
Col. Ronald Green, commander of the 405th AFSB, strongly supports all humanitarian aid missions the 3rd Battalion receives.
"We routinely provide humanitarian assistance whenever we receive a request for aid," Green said. "We value our relationship with Russia, and this is an example of our ability to work together and support each other in times of crisis."
Shipment of the supplies was not an easy task for the battalion, an element of Army Sustainment Command and its parent, Army Materiel Command.
"Although we are only shipping 85 pieces of fire-fighting equipment, the sheer weight of the shipment presents some challenges," explained Angelo Borelli, support operations officer for 3rd Battalion. "For example, each of the toolkits weighs more than 300 pounds; however, we're accustomed to challenging logistical operations, and we were able to get everything packed and palletized on six pallets within 24 hours of receiving the request from EUCOM."
The pallets were transported from the battalion via truck to the Pisa Military Airport, where it was loaded onto a U.S. Air Force C-130J for delivery to Russia.
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