POWIDZ, Poland –
The team of professionals from the 405th Army Field Support Brigade’s Poland Battalion hosted the command teams from the 593rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command and the 53rd Transportation Battalion (Movement Control) at the Powidz Army Prepositioned Stocks-2 worksite recently.
The commander of the 593rd ESC, Brig. Gen. Kevin Cotman, and the ESC’s senior enlisted leader, Command Sgt. Maj. Dawadrain Clark Sr., along with Lt. Col. Nathaniel Groves and Command Sgt. Maj. Edgar Zavala from the 53rd Trans. Bn. (MC), visited the U.S. Army’s newest, most modern APS site, Aug. 29.
During the site visit, the two command teams received a walking tour of the Powidz APS-2 worksite by Army Field Support Battalion-Poland Commander Lt. Col. Omar McKen, Sgt. Maj. Olimpia Valdez and Site Director George Palmer. While there, the two visiting command teams also observed Polish Provided Logistics Support personnel being trained on servicing and maintaining APS-2 equipment stored at the site.
The 593rd ESC command team from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, along with its subordinate transportation battalion, the 53rd Trans. Bn. (MC), visited the Powidz worksite to better understand APS-2 requirements and capabilities and to take some of AFSBn-Poland’s recently acquired best practices back with them to Lewis-McChord, stated AFSBn-Poland in an operational update to the 405th AFSB.
The Powidz APS-2 worksite is comprised of 650,000 square feet of humidity-controlled warehouse space, a vehicle maintenance facility and supporting facilities. In addition, there is a 58,000 square foot earth-covered munitions storage area, nearby. A modernized armored brigade combat team’s worth of APS-2 equipment is stored and maintained at the site, plus medical gear and supplies, sustainment and support equipment, and more.
The Powidz APS-2 worksite demonstrates the U.S. and NATO’s commitment to maintaining rapid deployment capabilities, playing a crucial role in deterrence through enduring agreements and strategic investments. In addition, it alleviates many of the deployment requirements typically associated with deploying major combat units to Europe from the U.S. It is estimated that APS-2 worksites in Europe, like Powidz, can help reduce deployment timelines for an armored brigade combat team from 60 days to as little as a week or two.
“The Powidz worksite is a forward projection platform to be utilized in Europe. It allows an armored brigade to deploy to Europe and receive necessary equipment within 48 hours,” said McKen, who is tasked with mission command of the Powidz APS-2 worksite.
The 405th AFSB’s APS-2 program enhances U.S. Army Europe and Africa’s readiness and capability to support the warfighter while simultaneously promoting stability and security in the region. By providing turn-key power projection APS-2 packages ready to employ at a moment’s notice, the APS-2 program is a key component of U.S. Army Europe and Africa’s power projection and warfighter readiness missions.
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 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.