CHIÈVRES AIR BASE, Belgium –
The team from Logistics Readiness Center Benelux celebrated the grand opening of their new paint booth with a ribbon cutting ceremony Dec. 18, and the command team from U.S. Army Garrison Benelux was present to help cut the ceremonial ribbon and congratulate the team.
Army Col. Lindsay Matthews and Command Sgt. Maj. Gary Yurgans joined the former LRC Benelux director, DJ Jackson; the interim director, Diana Ioane; the LRC Benelux maintenance chief, Patrick Brown; and the LRC Benelux paint and body shop team to commemorate the completion of the project.
“It was a long process,” said Brown. “We worked with the host nation to make sure we were in compliance with everything and up to code. We also worked with the garrison environmental office, the garrison safety office and the garrison fire department. All these regulations and certifications had to be met before we were finally able to paint. We had a lot of people involved, and we did it.”
In addition to the newly opened paint booth, LRC Benelux also has a newly upgraded paint room. Brown said the paint and body shop team will use the room for preparation and as an area to do small touch-up jobs.
“Once were done prepping, the equipment piece or vehicle will go straight into the new paint booth where we can shoot it, get it done, and get it ready and back to mission,” Brown said.
It’s estimated that having a new paint booth and an upgraded paint room at the LRC Benelux paint and body shop will increase painting production by 100 percent.
In support of Army Field Support Battalion-Benelux, LRC Benelux is now capable of painting four desert tan Humvees olive drab green every week, plus four to six trailers, said Brown. That’s a big increase from what the painters were capable of doing previously, which was two Humvees and two trailers a week.
“We’re looking at increasing our output by 100 percent,” Brown said. “In addition to that, we’ve received a new requirement from AFSBn-Benelux to paint 47 desert tan M107 Tank Rack Modules olive drab green.” A Tank Rack Module is a 2,500-gallon fuel pod.
Plus, LRC Benelux will continue to support USAG Benelux with installation baseline services, and if other 405th AFSB Army Prepositioned Stocks-2 worksites in Europe need LRC Benelux’s paint support “we can assist them, as well,” Brown said.
The new paint booth, which is part of LRC Benelux’s maintenance division, is the only one of its kind in the U.S. Army Europe and Africa area of operations. The cost of the paint booth is about $123,000. In addition, LRC Benelux purchased a new air compressor, a 6-stage air filtration system, and new pneumatic air respirators.
The maintenance division at LRC Benelux provides installation baseline services to the USAG Benelux area of responsibility. This includes maintenance, repairs, services, and paint and body shop support across the garrison’s footprint, to include multiple installations in Belgium and the Netherlands as well as Dülmen, Germany.
LRC Benelux is one of eight LRCs under the command and control of the 405th Army Field Support Brigade. LRCs execute installation logistics support and services to include supply, maintenance, and transportation as well as clothing issue facility operations, hazardous material management, personal property and household goods, passenger travel, non-tactical vehicle and garrison equipment management, and property book operations. When it comes to providing day-to-day installation baseline services, LRC Benelux directs, manages and coordinates a variety of operations and activities in support of USAG Benelux.
LRC Benelux reports to the 405th AFSB, which 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 at www.afsbeurope.army.mil and the official Facebook site at www.facebook.com/405thAFSB.