GRAFENWOEHR, Germany — The V Corps deputy commanding general for support walked the turn-in site and saw first-hand the Army Prepositioned Stocks-2 preparation for turn-in by the 405th Army Field Support Brigade and the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division.
Army Maj. Gen. Robert Burke also received briefings at the turn-in site and watched Soldiers and civilians prepare hundreds of APS-2 heavy armored vehicles, transport trucks and equipment sets for turn-in, Aug. 3, during his visit to Grafenwoehr Training Area.
For the first time in history, a U.S.-based armored brigade deployed to Europe and fell in on an entire ABCT’s worth of APS-2 armored vehicles and equipment, plus all the basic issue items, repair parts and tools needed to sustain them at fully mission capable – all thanks to the 405th AFSB.
Now that the 1st ABCT is wrapping up its nearly 6-month long deployment to Europe and being replaced by another brigade from the U.S., it’s time to start the process of returning all that APS-2 equipment, refitting it and getting it back to ready for issue and fully mission capable levels.
Army Lt. Col. Denny Bernacki is the commander of Army Field Support Battalion-Germany, 405th AFSB. His battalion has mission command of the APS-2 turn-in operations at Grafenwoehr for 1st ABCT, 3rd Inf. Div.
“We were able to show Major General Burke the pre-inventory, inventory, and post-inventory phases of the operation in order to highlight the continued joint focus on readiness from the collective team at Grafenwoehr Training Area,” Bernacki said.
Burke was impressed with AFSBn-Germany’s ability to sequence the operation, to include accountability transfers to take place less than a week before 1st ABCT’s Soldiers head home, Bernacki said. Burke was also focused on how much the collective force in Europe will learn from 1st ABCT’s deployment, he added.
During the visit, Burke received an operational overview and insight into the data points AFSBn-Germany tracks to stay on time and on target. He also walked the line with Soldiers from the 1st Combined Arms Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, 1st ABCT, to show post-inventory actions and talk lessons learned. Burke watched members of the 405th AFSB and 1st ABCT conduct joint preventative maintenance checks and services, and he toured the supply support activity area and met with more 1st ABCT Soldiers to discuss the turn-in process and hear their experiences.
“The visit was a great opportunity to highlight the collective actions of the 405th AFSB, 1st ABCT, the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Agency, U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria and 21st Theater Sustainment Command enablers,” Bernacki said. “I’m proud of the team here and the daily crosstalk with the Raider team from 1st ABCT.”
Burke’s message to the V Corps commanding general, Lt. Gen. John Kolasheski, following his site visit was how impressive the APS-2 turn-in operation is and how well organized.
Battalion Germany is one of four battalions assigned to the 405th AFSB. Headquartered at Rose Barracks in Vilseck, Germany, AFSBn-Germany is responsible for providing and coordinating tactical and operational sustainment to ensure theater readiness and enable commanders to conduct a full range of military operations in direct support of U.S. Army Europe and Africa. The battalion also maintains oversight and mission command of APS-2 operations at Dülmen worksite in Germany, and is charged with providing and coordinating receipt, transfer, storage and maintenance of APS-2.
The 405th AFSB’s APS-2 program provides turn-key power projection packages – ready to deploy at a moment’s notice – while helping to reduce the amount of equipment needed from the deploying forces’ home stations. 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 U.S. Army Materiel Command’s materiel enterprise to support joint forces. For more information on the 405th AFSB, visit the official website and the official Facebook site.
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