CAMP BONDSTEEL, KOSOVO - The mountain, commonly called Duke, soars above the sprawling expanse of Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo-a massive military installation that encompasses almost 1,000 acres and serves as headquarters for U.S. Forces supporting a multinational force to protect Kosovo.
Widespread operations require extensive support, and Soldiers in theater know exactly where to go for logistics solutions: the U.S. Army Materiel Command (AMC) Logistics Support Element (LSE) Combined Forces, Kosovo Force (KFOR).
"Our operations encompass the full spectrum of AMC operations," said Eddie Rivers, AMC LSE chief. "We have representatives from various AMC elements stationed here in-theater, including representatives from the Life Cycle Management Commands including: Aviation and Missile Command, TACOM, and CECOM - all synchronized under the Army Sustainment Command umbrella. By having multiple AMC organizations working at Camp Bondsteel, we're able to provide an integrated support team to the Soldiers who are here."
The AMC operations available at Camp Bondsteel extend far beyond the representation at the LSE, though.
"The most impressive thing about the LSE in Kosovo is that the organization has tremendous reachback capability," said Lt. Col. James Kennedy, commander of the 1st Battalion-405th Army Field Support Brigade.
The AMC LSE KFOR is in the 1/405th's area of operations, and consequently, Kennedy and his battalion provide support to the LSE as required.
"If the Soldiers in Kosovo need assistance that cannot be provided by the LSE, the LSE contacts us and we deploy the support on an as-needed basis," Kennedy explained. "This includes ammunition support through our U.S. Army Joint Munitions Command representative as well as other elements. It's of vital importance that we do everything we can to support the Soldiers because no unit has the expertise to do everything themselves."
The Soldiers at Camp Bondsteel find the support invaluable.
"Mr. Rivers runs a tight ship, and they take care of all the needs of our team," said John DeRosa, acting commanding officer of the Area Support Team at Camp Bondsteel.
Lt. Col. David Willard, chief of the Materiel Management Center that supports KFOR-10, echoed the praise of DeRosa.
"Eddie and his team have been an ace in the hole for me," Willard said. "They support me in every way that I need."
As the only logistics support team in theater, the AMC LSE KFOR provides daily support to each KFOR rotation that arrives at Camp Bondsteel, providing uncompromising support and professional services to all the Soldiers.
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