LIVORNO, Italy –
Daniele Argenti understands the importance of teamwork. As a lifelong soccer player and now trainer, Argenti currently coaches a group of Italian teenagers where teamwork is numero uno. But that’s just during his free time. At work, Argenti also understands why teamwork is number one.
The tool and parts attendant and supply material handler with Army Field Support Battalion-Africa at Leghorn Army Depot in Livorno said teamwork is the key to winning – whether that’s Inter Milan, his favorite professional soccer team, which is consistently ranked number one – or the Army Prepositioned Stocks-2 worksite where he works.
“I believe in being a good team member, on and off the field, at work or at play. I like being a part of a team, and it gives me a lot of pride to support all the mechanics on my team,” said Argenti, who has been the tool and parts attendant at the APS-2 worksite in Livorno for over five years.
Argenti, who started working at Leghorn in 1992, said he understands how important his job is to the mechanics and the people on his team. Before being assigned to the tool and parts shop and working as a supply handler, Argenti was working as a mechanic, himself, repairing and maintaining APS-2 vehicles and equipment sets.
“And before I was working for the Army, I was working as a mechanic for a large automotive dealership in Livorno,” he said. “When somebody told me the Army had vacant mechanic positions at Leghorn, I applied, and I was selected.”
Last Thursday, Argenti said he delivered a new transmission for a Humvee to his team of APS-2 mechanics. That was the largest item he delivered that day, but daily he delivers 30 to 35 repair or replacement parts to his team, sometimes more.
In addition to his daily duties handling supplies and delivering parts, Argenti also manages the non-tactical vehicles that are used to support operations at the APS-2 site. He also maintains a bench stock of replacement parts, and for the special tools that aren’t part of the mechanics’ toolboxes – such as test sets and other high value items – Argenti maintains possession of them and signs them out to his team when asked.
“I love working here and supporting my team. We have an amazing group of professionals, and I have a great relationship with all of them. And sometimes I even get the opportunity to work with my team in other countries,” added Argenti, who said he deployed to Poland for the DEFENDER 23 exercise last year to help receive APS-2 equipment back from tactical Army units at the end of the exercise.
“I just want to say thank you to the U.S. Army for giving me the opportunity to work here, 32 years ago. I really appreciate it,” said Argenti who is married and has a son and will turn 55 years old on April 8.
AFSBn-Africa, one of four battalions under the command and control of the 405th Army Field Support Brigade, is charged with receiving, maintaining, and storing APS-2 at Leghorn Army Depot, which includes 16 warehouses with 749,000 square feet of humidity-controlled storage plus four maintenance facilities as well as 1.5 million square feet of outside storage. In addition to APS-2 operations at Leghorn, AFSBn-Africa issues APS-2 equipment sets at locations forward – known as equipment configuration and handoff areas, or ECHAs.
AFSBn-Africa is also responsible for linking national logistics capabilities and providing logistics solutions to Army units and joint forces, primarily in Africa, through U.S. Army Materiel Command’s Life Cycle Management Commands – Aviation and Missile Command, Communications and Electronics Command, Joint Munitions Command, and Tank-automotive and Armaments Command. These LCMC Logistics Assistance Representatives are subject-matter expertise on all of the Army’s fielded systems, assisting Soldiers with troubleshooting and early detection of faults. LARs from AFSBn-Africa serve side-by-side with supported tactical units and deploy in support of a multitude of operations, primarily in Africa but also across Europe.
Organizations AFSBn-Africa directly support – helping to enable readiness across two theaters of operations – are U.S. European Command, U.S. Africa Command, U.S. Army Europe and Africa, Southern European Task Force-Africa, the 173rd Airborne Brigade, and other strategic partners and allies.
The 405th AFSB is assigned to U.S. Army Sustainment Command and headquartered in Kaiserslautern, Germany. The brigade provides materiel enterprise support to U.S. Forces throughout Europe and Africa – providing theater sustainment logistics; synchronizing acquisition, logistics and technology; and leveraging the AMC 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.