German rail now being used to help deliver Army Preposition Stocks-2 from Mannheim to Grafenwoehr

By Cameron Porter, 405th AFSB Public Affairs OfficerMarch 14, 2022

German rail now being used to help deliver Army Preposition Stocks-2 from Mannheim to Grafenwoehr
1 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – A contractor assigned to support the 405th Army Field Support Brigade ground guides an M1A2 Abrams main battle tank as it is loaded onto a German rail car at Coleman worksite in Mannheim, Germany. The 405th AFSB recently began augmenting its line-haul heavy equipment transporter deliveries of Army Prepositioned Stocks-2 equipment from Coleman to Grafenwoehr Training Area with Deutsche Bahn, or German railway, assets. More than two dozen armored vehicles and equipment pieces – ranging from tanks to Paladin self-propelled howitzers to Bradley fighting vehicles and more – were shipped via rail March 10. This was the first of many rail movements to come over the next few weeks. The APS-2 is being issued to 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division at an Equipment Configuration and Handoff Area. The 1st ABCT is deployed to Germany from Fort Stewart, Georgia. Their deployment supplements the more than 90,000 U.S. personnel already deployed to or based in Europe as part of the United States’ longstanding commitment to European security and close defense partnership with host nations. (Photo Credit: Maj. Allan Laggui) VIEW ORIGINAL
German rail now being used to help deliver Army Preposition Stocks-2 from Mannheim to Grafenwoehr
2 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Coleman on rail 3: An M1A2 Abrams main battle tank is loaded onto a German rail car at Coleman worksite in Mannheim, Germany. The 405th Army Field Support Brigade recently began augmenting its line-haul heavy equipment transporter deliveries of an entire armored brigade combat team’s worth of Army Prepositioned Stocks-2 equipment with rail. More than two dozen armored vehicles and equipment pieces – ranging from tanks to Paladin self-propelled howitzers to Bradley fighting vehicles and more – were shipped from Coleman to Grafenwoehr Training Area via Deutsche Bahn, or German railway, March 10. This was the first of many rail movements to come over the next few weeks. The APS-2 is being issued to the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, deployed to Germany from the U.S. This combined U.S.-German mission shows great solidarity and mutual cooperation, and demonstrates a combined strong and unremitting commitment to NATO Allies and partners. (Photo Credit: Maj. Allan Laggui) VIEW ORIGINAL
German rail now being used to help deliver Army Preposition Stocks-2 from Mannheim to Grafenwoehr
3 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – A contractor assigned to support the 405th Army Field Support Brigade ground guides an M1A2 Abrams main battle tank as it is loaded onto a German rail car at Coleman worksite in Mannheim, Germany. The 405th AFSB recently began augmenting its line-haul heavy equipment transporter deliveries of Army Prepositioned Stocks-2 equipment from Coleman to Grafenwoehr Training Area with Deutsche Bahn, or German railway, assets. More than two dozen armored vehicles and equipment pieces – ranging from tanks to Paladin self-propelled howitzers to Bradley fighting vehicles and more – were shipped via rail March 10. This was the first of many rail movements to come over the next few weeks. The APS-2 is being issued to 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division at an Equipment Configuration and Handoff Area. The 1st ABCT is deployed to Germany from Fort Stewart, Georgia. Their deployment supplements the more than 90,000 U.S. personnel already deployed to or based in Europe as part of the United States’ longstanding commitment to European security and close defense partnership with host nations. (Photo Credit: Maj. Allan Laggui) VIEW ORIGINAL
German rail now being used to help deliver Army Preposition Stocks-2 from Mannheim to Grafenwoehr
4 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – An M1A2 Abrams main battle tank is loaded onto a German rail car at Coleman worksite in Mannheim, Germany. The 405th Army Field Support Brigade recently began augmenting its line-haul heavy equipment transporter deliveries of an entire armored brigade combat team’s worth of Army Prepositioned Stocks-2 equipment with rail. More than two dozen armored vehicles and equipment pieces – ranging from tanks to Paladin self-propelled howitzers to Bradley fighting vehicles and more – were shipped from Coleman to Grafenwoehr Training Area via Deutsche Bahn, or German railway, March 10. This was the first of many rail movements to come over the next few weeks. The APS-2 is being issued to the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, deployed to Germany from the U.S. This combined U.S.-German mission shows great solidarity and mutual cooperation, and demonstrates a combined strong and unremitting commitment to NATO Allies and partners. (Photo Credit: Maj. Allan Laggui) VIEW ORIGINAL

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany – The 405th Army Field Support Brigade recently began augmenting its line-haul heavy equipment transporter deliveries of an entire armored brigade combat team’s worth of Army Prepositioned Stocks-2 equipment with rail.

More than two dozen armored vehicles and equipment pieces – ranging from M1A2 Abrams main battle tanks to M109 Paladin self-propelled howitzers to M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and more – were shipped from Coleman worksite in Mannheim, Germany, to Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany, via Deutsche Bahn, or German railway, March 10.

This was the first of many rail movements to come over the next few weeks. The APS-2 is being issued to the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, deployed to Germany from the U.S.

At the direction of the Commander, U.S. European Command, U.S. Army Europe and Africa is drawing APS-2 equipment and vehicles, mostly from Coleman work site, under the command and control of Army Field Support Battalion-Mannheim, 405th AFSB.

The APS-2 draw of an armored brigade combat team plus enablers is currently in the process of being delivered to Grafenwoehr Training Area. The APS-2 equipment and vehicles are being loaded onto military and commercial line-haul trucks, and now German railcars, and transported to Grafenwoehr, where the 405th AFSB’s Army Field Support Battalion-Germany is tasked with reception, staging and issue of the APS-2 to 1st ABCT, 3rd Inf. Div. at an Equipment Configuration and Handoff Area, also known as an ECHA.

This includes tracked vehicles such as the M1A2 Abrams, M2 Bradleys and M109 Paladins, as well as Joint Light Tactical Vehicles, generators, Palletized Load Systems and Load Handling Systems, Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Trucks, and more.

This combined U.S.-German rail mission shows great solidarity and mutual cooperation, and demonstrates a strong and unremitting commitment to NATO Allies and partners.

The 405th AFSB is assigned to U.S. Army Sustainment Command and under the operational control of the 21st Theater Sustainment Command, U.S. Army Europe and Africa. The brigade is headquartered in Kaiserslautern, Germany, and provides materiel enterprise support to U.S. Forces throughout Europe and Africa – providing theater sustainment logistics; synchronizing acquisition, logistics and technology; and leveraging AMC’s materiel enterprise to support joint forces. For more information on the 405th AFSB, visit the official website and the official Facebook site.