Army adds Medical Materiel to European Prepositioned Stocks

DUELMEN, Germany –

Army prepositioned stocks (APS) 2 in Europe -- the Army's newest APS site -- is now equipped with life-saving medical equipment and supplies in support of theater readiness.

A medical logistics support team from the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Agency, augmented by Soldiers from the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, completed a fielding mission Nov. 20. The team stocked and completed an inventory of more than 280 medical sets designed to support a wide range of operational medicine capabilities, from forward resuscitative surgical teams to field hospitals.

"USAMMA's execution of the medical materiel portion of the APS program plays an essential role in the delivery of healthcare on the battlefield," said USAMMA Commander Col. Timothy Walsh. "Through this mission, we help enable the medical speed of response for our combatant commanders in support of operations around the globe."

USAMMA manages the medical components of APS on behalf of the Department of the Army. Strategically located stocks provide deploying units with essential materiel support until logistical lines of communication are opened.

To ensure readiness of medical assets stored as part of APS-2, USAMMA will staff an on-site team of biomedical equipment specialists to calibrate and repair APS-2 medical devices, such as vital signs monitors and defibrillators, in compliance with vendor warranty requirements and U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations. Medical logisticians will also maintain accountability of all stored equipment and supplies, executing inventory management and replenishment.

All other APS-2 stocks are managed by the 405th Army Field Support Brigade, which is assigned to Army Sustainment Command and under the operational control of U.S. Army Europe. Medical materiel, however, is not "separate" from the rest of the materiel stored in APS-2, emphasized Kimberly Dankulich, USAMMA's Chief of APS.

"A ground ambulance vehicle can't support the mission without its medical set, and the ground ambulance medical set doesn't do any good unless it's mobile," said Dankulich. "We need them and they need us. Together, we enable readiness."