405th AFSB’s Poland Battalion uncases colors at Army's newest APS worksite

POWIDZ, Poland - The 405th Army Field Support Brigade's Poland Battalion officially uncased its unit colors during a ceremony at the Powidz Army Prepositioned Stocks-2 worksite in Powidz, Poland, Sept. 18.

The event doubled as a distinguished visitors' day to showcase Army Field Support Battalion-Poland and the newest, most modern APS worksite in the world. In attendance were dozens of military and civic leaders, both Polish and U.S.

The Polish Undersecretary of the Ministry of Defense, Stanisław Wziątek, and the U.S. Ambassador to Poland, Mark Brzenzinski, were both present and provided remarks.

"It is a privilege to be here for this important uncasing ceremony," Brzenzinski said. "A very warm welcome to the 405th Army Field Support Brigade. If you are an American man or woman standing in an American military uniform in Poland, you are a hero."

Also speaking at the event were Brig. Gen. John 'Brad' Hinson, the commanding general of U.S. Army Sustainment Command, and Maj. Gen. Ronald Ragin, the commanding general of the 21st Theater Sustainment Command.

"This site helps to solidify an important partnership between the U.S., NATO and Poland, highlighting a commitment to the collective defense and security of Europe, Hinson said. "It's truly impressive, and it's an important addition to the APS structure, being one of the six active APS-2 worksites in Europe under the mission command of the 405th AFSB."

Ragin said he was honored to be at the site celebrating such an extraordinary milestone. Like Hinson, he thanked the Polish government and the Polish people for helping make it a reality.

"Poland is the keystone to NATO's collective defense on the eastern flank, and I have no doubt this facility will serve as a model for future NATO investments," said Ragin.

"For hundreds of years Americans sacrificed for Polish freedom, and Poles sacrificed for American freedoms," said Brzenzinski, "but it's only recently that America and Poland shared the same freedoms because until 1989 - after World War II - Poland was an occupied country."

"When I say thank you to that young man or woman in an American military uniform … it is because - for the first time - Poland is free, Poland is safe and Poland is secure," said Brzenzinski. "I promise you as the sun comes up tomorrow, if the U.S. military was not here in Poland, things could be different. Thank God the U.S. military is here and thank God for the U.S. and Polish servicemembers who stand post every day and every night."

The state-of-the-art APS-2 worksite in Powidz encompasses 650,000 square feet of humidity-controlled warehouse space, a vehicle maintenance facility, and various supporting structures, plus 58,000 square feet of munitions storage nearby.

The Powidz APS-2 worksite houses an entire modernized armored brigade combat team's worth of APS-2 tactical vehicles and equipment sets and demonstrates the combined U.S., Polish and NATO commitment to maintaining rapid deployment capabilities.

The 405th AFSB's prepositioned stocks program alleviates many deployment requirements typically associated with sending 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.

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, warfighter readiness and logistics support missions.

"Logistics has always been the backbone of our military operations, and the role has become more crucial as our alliance has expanded east. We must remember that it is infantry that wins the battles, but I remind you it is the logistics that wins the wars," Ragin said.

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. Watch this video to learn more about the 405th AFSB's APS-2 program and the Powidz APS-2 worksite.

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