Courtesy Photo | Enoc Santos, the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Agency site manager at the Dülmen Army...... read more read more
DÜLMEN, Germany – As the tactical arm of U.S. Army Materiel Command during training and exercises in Europe, such as DEFENDER 25, the 405th Army Field Support Brigade’s capability to rapidly provide power projection support to mobilized U.S. forces deployed to Europe is a critical component to the Army’s strategic readiness.
With the start of DEFENFER 25 in the cross hairs, the 405th AFSB’s Army Field Support Battalion-Germany conducted a blood support detachment issue of Army Prepositioned Stocks-2 equipment and supplies to U.S. Army Reserve Medical Command’s 7384th Blood Support Detachment, currently deployed to Europe from Columbia, Missouri, for DEFENDER 25.
The Soldiers from the 7384th BSD received hundreds of Class VIII medical supplies and equipment pieces as well as Class VII generators, air conditioners, Humvees, trailers, forklifts, containers, electronic gear and more from AFSBn-Germany and the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Agency (USAMMA) at the Dülmen APS-2 worksite April 23, 2025.
To receive full benefit from the APS-2 issue mission – for training purposes, the AFSBn-Germany commander requested his team treat the mission as they would at an equipment configuration and hand-off area, or ECHA. To that end, the tactical command post and issue site were set up and operated like a forward ECHA mission in a field environment.
Once the ECHA issue was complete and the blood support detachment equipment and supply items were 100 percent accounted for, inspected and transferred to the 7384th BSD, the equipment was immediately prepared for line-haul movement and transported to Lithuania to be used by U.S. medical units and Allied and partner nations during DEFENDER 25.
“This was a first-time experience for me,” said Cpt. Zach Southard, the Dülmen APS-2 worksite current operations officer assigned to AFSBn-Germany, who was the officer in charge of the ECHA mission. “I’d rate it a 9 out of 10. I mean, there’s always room for improvement no matter where you’re at, but the Dülmen worksite is like a well-oiled machine. Having only been here for about six months, that was something I realized coming straight in.”
“The 405th AFSB, the contractors, USAMMA and the gaining tactical unit worked together in unison to accomplish the mission. The 7384th BSD took the time to come to our site twice while they were in Europe attending DEFENDER planning conferences leading up to exercise start. While here, we gave them a tour of the site, basically showing them who’s who in the zoo. Those visits were critical,” Southard said.
The commander’s responsible officer at the Dülmen APS-2 worksite for property accountability of both the Class VIII medical gear and supplies and the Class VII major end item equipment pieces is Sgt. 1st Class Belloc Anim from AFSBn-Germany.
He said they issued over 45 Class VII major end items to the 7384th BSD, such as joint battle command platforms, GPS receivers, radios, tactical vehicles and shelter systems, plus the containers to store and protect the blood support detachment Class VIII medical gear and supplies – gear such as blood platelet incubators and storage systems, plus other extremely sensitive medical equipment that requires highly specialized training to operate.
“To make this happen, we needed the gaining tactical unit to be on the same page as our APS team at the site. To accomplish this and meet the target, we all had to work very well together, and I believe we did that. [The 7384th BSD] were cooperative and very understanding. They came in ready to execute,” Anim said.
DEFENDER 25 is the largest U.S. Army exercise in Europe involving more than 25 Allied and partner nations. Three major exercises make up DEFENDER 25. They are Swift Response, Immediate Response and Saber Guardian. DEFENDER 25 includes approximately 25,000 troops from the U.S., Allies, and partners working together to improve coordination, tactics and equipment compatibility.
DEFENDER 25 is set for May 11 to June 24, 2025, in 18 countries, including Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden. DEFENDER 25 helps ensure U.S., NATO Allies, and partner forces can respond decisively with lethal force to dominate and win against military forces that threaten regional national sovereignties. Go here to view more DEFENDER 25 media products: www.dvidshub.net/feature/defendereurope, and learn more about DEFENDER 25 here: https://www.europeafrica.army.mil/Defender.
The 405th AFSB is assigned to U.S. Army Sustainment Command 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 at www.afsbeurope.army.mil and the official Facebook site at www.facebook.com/405thAFSB.
| Date Taken: | 04.28.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 04.28.2025 03:56 |
| Story ID: | 496297 |
| Location: | DULMEN, NORDRHEIN-WESTFALEN, DE |
| Web Views: | 55 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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