Photo By Galen Putnam | Lt. Col. Edward K. Woo, commander, Army Field Support Battalion-Northeast Asia, is...... read more read more
CAMP CARROLL, Waegwan, Republic of Korea – The Army Field Support Battalion–Northeast Asia, received the fiscal 2020 Army Award for Maintenance Excellence here during a ceremony at Warehouse K, Dec. 10.
The battalion was recognized in the Active Army Table of Distributions and Allowances Unit Category.
The award, recognizing the best in Army maintenance operations, was presented to Lt. Col. Edward K. Woo, commander, AFSBn-NEA, by Col. Wheeler R. Manning, commander, 403rd Army Field Support Brigade. The 403rd AFSB, located at Camp Henry in Daegu, is the AFSBn–NEA’s higher headquarters.
“The Army Award for Maintenance Excellence is an exceptional and prestigious award,” Manning said. This speaks volumes for the program that [the AFSBn-NEA] has put in place, and it also speaks volumes for the hard work that each one of those personnel put in day in and day out. They've been award winners many different times in multiple different product categories including maintenance as well as supply excellence. We are very proud of their accomplishment.”
The AFSBn-NEA’s mission is to receive, store, maintain, account for, and on–order issue, Army Prepositioned Stocks-4 (unit sets, operational projects and sustainment stocks), located in Korea and Japan, in order to provide strategic flexibility and depth to Joint/Combined and U.S. Army forces.
AFSBn-NEA previously received the AAME in fiscal 2010, 2011, 2013, and 2016. The battalion also received the Chief of Staff of the Army Supply Excellence Award in fiscal 2011, 2012, and 2013. In addition, the battalion received the fiscal 2013 Chief of Staff of the Army Property Book Operations (Level–III) Award.
“We have a drive to succeed, to excel above and beyond the standard. We are in business to support the warfighter, that's the most important thing we do,” Woo said. “No one does that alone. We are a team, and we stand shoulder to shoulder next to each other to ensure that everyone has what they need to enhance the mission. This is a true testament to the culture and the climate of the organization. What I'm most proud of is that we've operated in an atmosphere of dignity and respect and I just can't say enough about how proud I am of them.”
The ceremony was livestreamed on both Facebook Live and MS Teams so individuals, both on the peninsula and around the globe, could view remotely. Dignitaries, including senior leaders from U.S. Army Sustainment Command at Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, watched the event online. The 403rd AFSB is one of seven brigades worldwide that fall under ASC, headquartered at RIA. ASC is a subordinate command of the U.S. Army Materiel Command, located at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama.
Several battalion personnel were recognized individually for their contributions and were awarded Army Chief of Staff AAME Coins of Excellence. Recipients were: Robert Thomason, chief, Transportation Division; and Yu Ik–sang, senior leader, Korean Service Corps, Transportation Division. Also receiving AAME coins were heavy mobile equipment mechanic leaders An Sang–kun, Han Kyu–hwan, and Yim No–song, all from the maintenance branch, Maintenance Division.
The coin recipients, with a combined 58 years-of-service to the battalion, were recommended by their first-line supervisors for their excellent support to AFSBn-NEA’s Care of Supply in Storage mission for Army Prepositioned Stocks-4.
“We always try to do the best job possible, but this is really special,” Han said. “Everyone here is really proud to know that we did a good job.”
The AAME was established in 1982 by the Department of the Army to recognize exceptional accomplishment in maintenance. The Army Chief of Staff program is conducted each year to recognize Army units and/or activities that have demonstrated excellence in maintenance operations.
The AFSBn-NEA’s history began with the 1994 establishment of the Army War Reserve Management Cell–4 to manage war reserve stocks in the Pacific Theater. Operations were initiated at Camp Carroll in June 1994, with four temporary duty personnel from the continental United States. Permanent personnel arrived in December 1994.
The cell was designated as the Combat Equipment Base-Northeast Asia in July 1996 and became part of the dual command with Depot Support Activity-Far East located in Seoul. The dual command relationship ended in March 1998 when CEB–NEA was assigned its own commander.
In October 1998, CEB-NEA was re-designated as the Combat Equipment Battalion–Northeast Asia in recognition of its permanent status and growing responsibilities for APS-4 in the Pacific. These stocks are configured as a Modified Tables of Organization and Equipment armor-heavy brigade set, four MTOE hospital sets, operational project stocks to support specified missions, sustainment stocks for the theater in the event of contingencies. Altogether, APS-4 stocks represent almost $8 billion of assets in Korea and Japan. These assets serve to enhance peacetime readiness and power projection capabilities.
In October 2005, CEB-NEA was renamed Army Field Support Battalion-Northeast Asia. The headquarters is located at Camp Carroll, Waegwan, South Korea, about 15 miles northwest of Daegu. In October 2005, the battalion received operational control of the APS-Support Division from the Materiel Support Center-Korea.
The following year, in October 2006, the 36th Korean Service Corps Company was activated in direct support of the battalion’s mission. In October of that year, the battalion assumed responsibility for storage and maintenance of APS-4 watercraft relocated to Yokohama North Dock, Japan, from the CEB, Hythe, England.
In May 2007, the battalion assumed responsibility for storage and maintenance of APS-4 stocks at Sagami General Depot, Japan. The battalion strength is now approximately 588 personnel.
For more photos of the event, go to the 403rd AFSB Flickr page at:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/afsb403d/albums/72157717233650603
| Date Taken: | 12.10.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 12.12.2020 22:54 |
| Story ID: | 384868 |
| Location: | CAMP CARROLL, KR |
| Web Views: | 284 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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