FEBRUARY 17, 2023 – The first shipment of M2A2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles from the U.S. has arrived at the Coleman Army Prepositioned Stocks-2 worksite, and a team of experts headed by the 405th Army Field Support Brigade is there staging and preparing the Bradleys for onward movement.
The more than 60 Bradleys – which left Charleston, South Carolina, about three weeks ago and started arriving at the Coleman APS-2 worksite in Mannheim earlier this week – are part of a $2.85 billion U.S. military aid agreement announced earlier this year to help provide Ukraine with additional defensive capabilities in order to protect itself from Russia.
Jason Todd, Army Field Support Battalion-Mannheim’s deputy support operations officer, said “a team of teams” has converged and assembled at the Coleman APS-2 worksite to support the arrival of the Bradleys.
Personnel from Red River Army Depot, Texas, U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command, Project Manager Bradley, Army Field Support Battalion-Benelux, the 16th Sustainment Brigade’s 624th Transportation Detachment (Movement Control), and U.S. Army Tank-automotive Armaments Command have arrived and are working together on the reception, integration and onward movement of the Bradleys, Todd said.
“This is a critical effort to ensure we continue to support our allies and partners and help Ukraine protect itself from Russia’s unprovoked attacks,” said Todd. “It demonstrates our ability as a total Army team to leverage support across an extremely wide spectrum and ensure continued support arrives at the point of need.”
Todd said the assembled team at Coleman “is merely a cog” in a much larger piece of machinery tasked with supporting current operations in Europe and the defense of Ukraine.
“It’s almost like a staging area with maintenance facilities, an extremely well trained and seasoned labor force and a stockpile of repair parts, if needed,” said Todd.
“We are working diligently in a synchronized effort, leveraging our logistical partners across the U.S. Army Materiel Command enterprise, to ensure all these Bradleys coming from the U.S. are ready for their follow-on mission,” Todd said. “This is a tremendous effort and emphasizes our ability to rapidly assemble, integrate assets and accomplish the mission.”
Bradleys are armored vehicles that transport infantry in combat zones and provide supportive fires. Along with the more than 60 Bradleys, President Biden announced an additional $2.85 billion in security assistance, comprising of more fighting vehicles, ammunition, missiles and Stryker armored personnel carriers. This brings the total U.S. contribution to the effort to $27.1 billion since the Russian invasion began in February 2022.
The 405th AFSB’s Mannheim battalion recently issued dozens of Bradleys from its Coleman APS-2 worksite to help support the training of Ukrainian forces on the operation and maintenance of the infantry fighting vehicles and their associated systems.
The Coleman APS-2 worksite, located on a former Army airfield, stores and maintains an armored brigade combat team’s worth of heavy armored vehicles and equipment. In August 2021, U.S. Army Europe and Africa announced that it will retain the Coleman worksite, which was previously scheduled to be returned to the German government.
The 405th AFSB’s APS-2 program provides turn-key power projection packages ready to deploy at a moment’s notice while helping to reduce the amount of equipment needed from the deploying forces’ home stations. APS-2 sites like Coleman help reduce deployment timelines, improve deterrence capabilities and provide additional combat power for contingency operations. APS-2 equipment may also be drawn for use in training and exercises.
The 405th AFSB is assigned to U.S. Army Sustainment Command and under the operational control of the 21st Theater Sustainment Command, U.S. Army Europe and Africa. The brigade is headquartered in Kaiserslautern, Germany, and provides materiel enterprise support to U.S. Forces throughout Europe and Africa – providing theater sustainment logistics; synchronizing acquisition, logistics and technology; and leveraging AMC’s materiel enterprise to support joint forces. For more information on the 405th AFSB, visit the official website and the official Facebook site.
By Cameron Porter, 405th AFSB Public Affairs Officer