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NEWS | Dec. 15, 2023

RDC-U team in Poland grateful for the ‘gift of giving’ during the holidays

By Cameron Porter 405th Army Field Support Brigade

One of the joys of the holidays is gift giving, and the team at the Remote Maintenance and Distribution Center-Ukraine in Poland experienced this recently when they received care packages and gift boxes from a group of kind-hearted people on the other side of the world.

“Thank you to everyone who helped lift the holiday spirits within our formation,” said Lt. Col. Michael Liles, the RDC-U commander. “Your act of kindness goes a long way for all of the troops here.”

Army Maj. Janet Williams, who also works at the RDC-U, said she wanted to personally express her gratitude to everyone who continues to keep her and her fellow Soldiers in mind while they’re deployed abroad.

“We could not do what we do without the love and support from people like you. Thank you, and may God continue to bless you,” Williams said.

The team of Soldiers and civilians who work at the RDC-U received multiple holiday care packages and gift boxes in the mail from a group of very giving people back in the states. The boxes included snacks and goodies and things that deployed Soldiers overseas find useful.

“The entire team at our restaurant, along with our fine patrons, are grateful for what you do,” said Nick Mikus, the founder of Nick’s Ristorante in Huntsville, Alabama, and the person who organized the care packages. “We appreciate your sacrifices and your patriotism as you keep all of us here at home protected with the freedoms we enjoy, and we look forward to your safe return home very soon.”

Master Sgt. George Barker, the senior enlisted advisor at the RDC-U and Army Field Support Battalion-Mannheim, responded to Mikus, a retired Soldier himself, with much gratitude in return.

“My sincere gratitude and appreciation to you and your team,” Barker said to Mikus in an email. “Thank you for taking the time to send us these care packages. Your consideration for others during this holiday season is truly what Christmas is all about.”

“It came as a total surprise and was the highlight of my day,” added Sgt. 1st Class Tyson Glover. “I'm grateful for your support and wish you and your families a wonderful Christmas.”

The RDC-U, which was stood up by the 405th Army Field Support Brigade shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022, is a model of cooperation and U.S. Army Materiel Command enterprise-level support. Organizations supporting the mission include the 405th AFSB, Security Assistance Group-Ukraine, U.S. Army Europe and Africa, U.S. Army Sustainment Command and multiple AMC Life Cycle Management Commands such as U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command, U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command and more. 

The 405th AFSB is assigned to ASC 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 at www.afsbeurope.army.mil and the official Facebook site at www.facebook.com/405thAFSB.