Photo By Sandra Wilson | U.S. Army contractors use a forklift to load Class VII and VIII materiel onto military...... read more read more
DÜLMEN, Germany – U.S. Army Soldiers arrived at Army Prepositioned Stock-2 (APS-2) Dülmen for a landmark 32-bed field hospital pull for transport to Baumholder, Germany in support of the DEFENDER Europe exercise May 6-7 in Dülmen, Germany.
During the convoy preparations, U.S. Army Garrison Benelux housed a number of deployed Soldiers in the Dülmen Tower Barracks gymnasium.
Not only did this mark a first for U.S. Army medicine but also an unprecedented mission for the Dülmen site as it issued from its warehouse and loaded a convoy for the first time since the installation was initially handed over to the U.S. Army in 2017 from British armed forces.
“We also coordinated with the city and Polizei about the movements while maintaining operational security,” said Daniel Jones, Dülmen site manager.
The field hospital set plays an integral role in this year’s exercise, DEFENDER 24, as the mission provides troops an invaluable training opportunity in the European theater.
“This exercise helps us synchronize so that we can get [materiel] ready in a timely manner for the warfighter,” said Maj. Tameka Tutt, U.S. Army Medical Materiel Agency (USAMMA) APS-2 Class VIII logistics support director. “It gives [the Soldiers] an opportunity to learn to set up a hospital.”
APS-2 Dülmen stores and maintains USAMMA Class VIII medical materiel—enough to stand up a 240-bed field hospital. Equipment includes items as small as a combat medic bag and as large as a full medical laboratory, operating room, pharmacy, and more. Keeping materiel ready for issue allows for a rapid logistical supply chain to future incoming warfighters.
“When you look at APS-2 in Europe, we are set up in a way to do long-term storage and be a break-glass-in-case-of-war type stock,” said Troy Furlow, the APS-2 Dülmen site director with Army Field Support Battalion (AFSBn)-Germany, 405th Army Field Support Brigade. “[We] shorten the logistics trail and ultimately resource the warfighter that flies over here.”
Support class VII material, such as AC units and power generators, also went on the convoy with the medical equipment. The issue and transport of the materiel out of Dülmen Tower Barracks is only a piece of the whole exercise that builds on multi-partner defense strategies and increases readiness.
“The DEFENDER series is … helping us see ourselves as we execute a process,” said Furlow about how the exercise takes place every year led by the U.S. Army as a joint endeavor to enhance interoperability. “The preparation is important but also the repetition.”
DEFENDER 24 occurs this year from March 28 to May 31 and as the largest U.S. Army exercise in Europe, it employs more than 17,000 U.S. and 23,000 multinational service members. More than 20 Allied and partner nations participate to strengthen the NATO Alliance and build collective defense.
“It went top notch—I got a lot of positive feedback from the unit on how the process flow went,” said Furlow. “I’m really proud of the team here for what they’ve done.”
While the issuing of the 32-bed hospital set is complete and in transit to the exercise location, the next stages of DEFENDER 24 continue. In the following days, Soldiers complete the unpacking and set up the field hospital to cover more than six acres of land in Baumholder. After building the hospital to full capacity, the Soldiers then tear it down, pack it up, and convoying it back to APS-2 Dülmen.
“To see the whole process from start to finish is … amazing,” said Holly Jordan, director of supply for AFSBn-Germany at the Dülmen site.
Once returned to the warehouses, the 300 devices and other materiel in the 32-bed set are serviced back to 100 percent and restocked on the shelves—a complete process and full display of the U.S. Army and its partners’ mission-capable status.
“It takes a lot of manpower and working pieces to make this happen,” said Maj. Nikkia Lee, of the 810th Hospital Center, an Army Reserve unit deployed for the exercise to Germany from Alabama. “It’s a critical mission that we’re doing now.”
| Date Taken: | 05.14.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 05.14.2024 01:14 |
| Story ID: | 471198 |
| Location: | DULMEN, NW, DE |
| Web Views: | 76 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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