MANNHEIM, Germany –
The 405th Army Field Support Brigade's Army Field Support Battalion-Mannheim received about three dozen next-generation M109A7 Paladin Artillery Systems and M992A3 Field Artillery Ammunition Support Vehicles by railhead at Coleman Barracks, March 4.
The new armored vehicles, now a part of the 405th AFSB's Army Prepositioned Stock-2 Program at Coleman worksite, will enhance U.S. Army Europe and Africa's readiness and capability to support the warfighter while simultaneously promoting stability and security in the region.
These enhanced self-propelled artillery systems offer key fire-support for a variety of combat missions conducted by the Army’s Armored Brigade Combat Teams in conventional, hybrid, irregular and counterinsurgency combat environments.
Jason Todd, a logistics management specialist at Coleman worksite, AFSBn-Mannheim, said the work of unloading the new self-propelled howitzers from the trains and moving them to the APS-2 site was a joint effort between multiple teams at Coleman Barracks.
“The railhead operation successfully moved the newly acquired pieces and subsequent containers in a joint effort, smoothly and effectively,” Todd said, “Project Management Self-Propelled Howitzer System personnel driving the vehicles, Amentum providing command of the railhead and support personnel for ground guiding, staging and refueling, with oversight from the AFSBn-Mannheim Coleman worksite team.”
The APS-2 site at Mannheim could not support USAREUR-AF’s readiness mission without the total team – more than 800 dedicated and highly-skilled maintainers, mechanics and staff personnel, said Thomas Esposito, the director of Coleman worksite, AFSBn-Mannheim.
Here at the Coleman worksite, AFSBn-Mannheim’s primary mission is the storage and maintenance of one ABCT’s vehicles – over 500 pieces – M1 Abrams tanks, M2 Bradley fighting vehicles, self-propelled howitzers, staff tracked vehicles, armored personnel carriers and more, Esposito said.
“Our regular business is the maintenance and storage and accountability, thereof,” said Esposito. “We maintain this ABCT -- forward – ready to issue to an active duty unit in the event of a requirement here in theater. We are also able to issue forward, as we demonstrated during DEFENDER-Europe 20.”
The 405th AFSB is assigned to U.S. Army Sustainment Command and under the operational control of the 21st Theater Sustainment Command, USAREUR-AF. 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 the U.S. Army Materiel Command materiel enterprise to support joint forces. For more information on the 405th AFSB, visit the official website at www.afsbeurope.army.mil and the official Facebook site at www.facebook.com/405thAFSB.