A team of U.S. Army automated logistics specialists from the Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Armored Division, trains Polish service members from the 33rd Army Prepositioned Stocks Battalion at the Powidz Army Prepositioned Stocks-2 work site in Poland on supply and support activity operations and the Global Combat Support System-Army.
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The Polish Army’s 33rd Prepositioned Stocks Battalion at the Powidz Army Prepositioned Stocks-2 worksite in Poland receives training on supply and support activity operations and the U.S. Army’s Global Combat Support System from a small team of U.S. Army Automated Logistics specialists from the Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Armored Division.
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POWIDZ, Poland – The Polish Army’s 33rd Prepositioned Stocks Battalion (33rd APS Bn.) at the Powidz-2 (APS-2) Army Prepositioned Stocks worksite in Poland recently received valuable training on Supply and Support Activity (SSA) operations and the Global Combat Support System (GCSS-Army) from a small team of automated logistics specialists from U.S. Army Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Armored Division (1st AD CAB), recently.
Invited to the APS-2 construction site by the commander of the Army Field Support Battalion Poland (AFSBn-Poland), 1st AD CAB Soldiers spent a few days with their Polish counterparts in August to explain the systems and processes used when receiving deliveries of Class 9 supplies and repair parts, said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Stephen Valentine, 1st AD CAB SSA officer in charge.
“The main goal was to train them on the systems and processes and familiarize them with GCSS-Army,” Valentine said. “Polish military personnel at the APS-2 site are now using the system. Only a few of them currently have access to it, but they are using the GCSS-Army system under the supervision of army civilians.”
GCSS-Army is a web-based automated logistics system that focuses on actions related to property book and supply and logistics management operations. It serves as the Army’s asset and financial records system and can handle large volumes of transactions, providing current item location updates while interfacing with the General Funds Enterprise Business System (GFEBS) for financial data tracking and feedback.
Valentine said that before he and his team went to the Powidz APS-2 construction site, he spoke with the commander of AFSBn-Poland, who commands the site, and the officer in charge of the site to fully understand what the training should focus on. From there, Valentine and his platoon sergeant, Staff Sgt. Javon Hines provided this information to his team who provided the training.
“It was about train the trainer on my team,” Valentine said. “I provided them with all the information they needed as well as my advice. The Soldiers then conducted the training, and my platoon sergeant and I provided supervision. They did a very good job.”
A small team of Soldiers from the Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Armored Division, recently trained Polish service members from the 33rd Army Prepositioned Stocks Battalion at the Powidz Army Prepositioned Stocks-2 yard in Poland on supply and support activity operations and the Global Combat Support System-Army. Pictured are the team: Chief Warrant Officer 2 Stephen Valentine, Staff Sgt. Javon Hines, Spc. Carlos Rodriguez, SPC. Estaban Velez and Spc. Hayden Walker.
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Valentine said Polish soldiers from the 33rd APS Bn. were very receptive. Those who spoke good English acted as translators and “were able to guide the other guys through the training while we taught it.”
“We would show them the process and let them do it a few times to get their reps in,” said Valentine, who added that he had never visited an APS job site before and was very impressed with Powidz’s site and his team.
The Powidz APS-2 yard includes 650,000 square feet of humidity-controlled warehouse space, as well as a vehicle maintenance facility and various support structures and houses an entire modernized armored brigade combat team consisting of tactical vehicles and APS-2 equipment.
AFSBn-Poland operates under the Army’s 405th Field Support Brigade, which oversees four battalions in Europe. The Powidz site is one of six APS-2 yards across the continent, with others located in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy.
The 405th AFSB’s APS-2 program alleviates many deployment requirements typically associated with sending major combat units to Europe from the United States. By providing turnkey power projection APS-2 packages ready for use at a moment’s notice, the 405th AFSB’s APS-2 program is a key component of the U.S. Army’s power projection, warfighter readiness and logistics support missions in Europe and Africa.
The 405th AFSB is the premier logistics integrator and synchronizer for U.S. European Command, enabling readiness solutions to “sustain the warrior” by operationalizing U.S. Army Materiel Command capabilities and ensuring readiness across U.S. Army Europe and Africa areas of responsibility when needed.
The 405th AFSB is assigned to U.S. Army Sustainment Command and provides materiel support to U.S. forces across Europe and Africa – providing theater sustainment logistics; synchronize acquisition, logistics and technology; and leveraging the U.S. Army Materiel Command’s materiel enterprise to support joint forces. For more information about the 405th AFSB, visit official website and the official Facebook site.