The U.S. Army Prepositioned Stocks-2 staging grid is set at Libava, ready to issue an entire cavalry APS-2 equipment set to the 1st Squadron, 150th Cavalry Regiment from the West Virginia Army National Guard for DEFENDER 24. The 405th Army Field Support Brigade’s Army Field Support Battalion-Africa has established an Equipment Configuration and Hand-off Area in Libava, and over the course of the next couple of days the battalion from Livorno, Italy, will be conducting technical inspections of all the tactical vehicles, basic issue items and support equipment with Soldiers from the 1st Squadron, 150th Cav. Regt., the gaining tactical unit. The cavalry equipment set was transported from Coleman Army Prepositioned Stocks-2 worksite in Mannheim, Germany, using commercial line-haul transporters. The contracted workforce at Coleman, approximately 50 personnel, traveled from there to Libava to help set the staging grid for DEFENDER 24 and assist with the issue of equipment to the 1st Squadron, 150th Cav. Regt. at the ECHA site. Command and control of the ECHA site is the responsibility of AFSBn-Africa.

“At the ECHA site there are approximately 400 major end items, which include M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles, M113 Armored Personnel Carriers, Joint Light Tactical Vehicles, Light Medium Tactical Vehicles, and a variety of different types of rolling stock, to include fuelers, wreckers and more. According to ECHA standard operating procedures, we will conduct a joint technical inventory with the gaining tactical unit, looking at all the major end items and the basic issue items to include the components of end items, and together we’ll ensure everything per the hand receipts is all there,” said Kilian. “Once the gaining tactical unit verifies that all the serial numbers are correct on the hand receipts and all the equipment is 100 percent operational, then we sign the equipment over to them,” said Thomas Kilian, the director of supply at AFSBn-Africa and the ECHA site lead in Libava.

The 405th AFSB is assigned to U.S. Army Sustainment Command and headquartered in Kaiserslautern, Germany. The brigade 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’s materiel enterprise to support joint forces. The 405th AFSB maintains at Army Pre-positioned Stock-2 depots in Europe and provides it to units arriving from the continental United States. The Army Prepositioned Stock program is a cornerstone of the Army’s ability to rapidly project power and send a clear signal of U.S. commitment. Sets of equipment, such as all the tanks and wheeled vehicles of an armored brigade combat team, are strategically prepositioned in climate controlled facilities worldwide. APS equipment has been used as a deterrent in the Middle East since Operations Desert Shield/Storm.

DEFENDER is the Dynamic Employment of Forces to Europe for NATO Deterrence and Enhanced Readiness, and is a U.S. European Command scheduled, U.S. Army Europe and Africa conducted exercise that consists of Saber Strike, Immediate Response, and Swift Response. DEFENDER 24 is linked to NATO’s Steadfast Defender exercise, and DoD’s Large Scale Global Exercise, taking place from 28 March to 31 May. DEFENDER 24 is the largest U.S. Army exercise in Europe and includes more than 17,000 U.S. and 23,000 multinational service members from more than 20 Allied and partner nations, including Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Georgia, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.