Poland is first stop for ASC commanding general on his first site visit to Europe

POZNAN, Poland - During his first site visit to Europe, the commanding general of U.S. Army Sustainment Command's first stop was the 405th Army Field Support Brigade's Logistics Readiness Center Poland at Camp Kościuszko in Poznan and Army Field Support Battalion-Poland at the Powidz Army Prepositioned Stocks-2 worksite in Powidz, Poland.

Army Brig. Gen. John 'Brad' Hinson, who took command of ASC two months ago, traveled to Poland with his senior enlisted advisor, Command Sgt. Maj. Jorge Escobedo, to conduct a site visit of the two key locations and speak to leaders from LRC Poland, AFSBn-Poland and the 405th AFSB headquarters.

Hinson and Escobedo first traveled to Poznan and met with LRC Poland staff Sept. 16 at their cluster of offices inside the V Corps headquarters on Camp Kościuszko. There, the ASC command team received a capabilities briefing from LRC Poland and went office to office to meet some of the key members of LRC Poland in their work areas.

That afternoon, a briefing for the ASC command team headed by 405th AFSB Commander Col. Ernest Lane II was presented to Hinson and Escobedo in the hotel conference room where they were staying. Present at the briefing were three of the four battalion commanders under the 405th AFSB and directors or deputy directors from seven of the eight 405th AFSB LRCs. Also present was the director of Base Support Operations Maintenance.

Not only did each of the battalion commanders and the LRC leaders brief the ASC commanding general and command sergeant major. They also took the opportunity to raise concerns and issues they believed needed Hinson's and Escobedo's attention. Lane said he wanted the ASC command team to hear it directly from the battalions and LRCs and not from him.

Hinson said the reason why he conducts site visits like this is to hear from the battalion and LRC leaders on "what we can do as a higher headquarters to make your lives easier."

"That's really what Jorge's and my job is - to make your lives easier, as the higher headquarters, so that you can do your jobs better," said Hinson. "If you don't bring anything up to us then we'll just think 'okay, you all are 100 percent - you all have everything you need.' But so far you've brought some stuff up this morning. This is the forum to do that so please let us know what help you need from the two of us."

"I will say this - probably 50 percent of my time and what I bring to our higher headquarters [U.S. Army Materiel Command] are things that you all do. Everything that's going on right now with Europe is the number one priority, and everything that you all are doing right now is just incredible," said Hinson.

The ASC command team also traveled to Powidz, Poland, to visit the Army's newest, most modern APS worksite. Upon arriving at the Powidz APS-2 worksite, Hinson and Escobedo were greeted by Lt. Col. Omar McKen, the commander of AFSBn-Poland, who has mission command of the APS-2 site. McKen and Site Director George Palmer escorted the ASC command team through the worksite, visiting an APS-2 storage warehouse, the maintenance facility, the area where the Polish Provided Logistics Services personnel are being trained on APS-2 maintenance and to other areas at the Powidz APS-2 worksite.

The state-of-the-art APS-2 worksite encompasses 650,000 square feet of humidity-controlled warehouse space, a vehicle maintenance facility, and various supporting structures. It stores and maintains an entire modernized armored brigade combat team's worth of equipment. Also, located nearby the new APS site is a new 58,000 square foot munitions storage area.

"Thank you for everything you do to support our great Soldiers and Families," said Escobedo. "I really enjoy every time I have the opportunity to interact with all you guys. You guys are amazing, and I'm just very proud to be a part of this organization and serve with you."

"Keep doing what you are all doing. You are just knocking it out of the park. This is the brigade that is the priority with everything you're doing. We're here for you," Hinson added.

The 405th AFSB is assigned to ASC 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 and the official Facebook site.

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