Soldier leads team to clear Poland’s five-year supply backlog | Article

POWIDZ, Poland — When Lt. Col. Steven Smith and his team from the 142nd Division Sustainment Support Battalion, Division Sustainment Brigade, 1st Armored Division, took over the Supply Support Activity at Powidz in February, they discovered a backlog of materiel worth $40 million over five years not returned to the Army supply system.

“What we inherited was a … distribution center that was not distributing,” said Smith, who commanded the 142nd DSSB. “We had items like tank engines, tank guns, tracks, etc., waiting to be returned.”

The Army’s standard customer wait time – measuring how quickly supplies reach commanders after arriving at the SSA – should be two days or less. When the 142nd DSSB took over the mission, this wait time was 95 days.

“We measure the effectiveness of an SSA based on customer wait time,” Smith explained. “When an item of supply arrives at the SSA, the Army measures how quickly that item gets to a maneuver commander.”

SPC. John Ramos, an automated logistics specialist and noncommissioned officer in charge of the surrender section, found himself leading the effort to clear the backlog.

“When we arrived in October, this section was completely full,” Ramos said. “When we started digging and doing an inventory, we started finding items from 2017.”

“If the parts sit there collecting dust, you’re wasting money,” Ramos explained. “We had $50,000 worth of parts that didn’t do anything.”

In 30 days, Ramos and his team processed and returned 581 pallets of supplies to the Army supply system, worth $40 million worth of equipment.

“That’s $40 million put back into the supply chain to support warfighters who need it,” Smith said.

Thanks to Ramos and his team, customer wait time has gone from 95 days to 35 days and continues to improve.

“All credit goes to Spc. Ramos and his team of five troopers who took on the mountain of surrender actions,” Smith said. “His team was the one that physically palletized the bulk items to be returned, prepared each of those 581 pallets, and loaded them onto the trucks using forklifts.”

The workload at Powidz far exceeds what the team experienced during its previous mission.

“It’s extremely busy. There’s no slow time and we always have something to do,” Ramos said. “The only difference between this SSA and the one at Fort Bliss is that this one requires about ten times the work or more parts than we receive on a daily basis.”

The SSA supports more than 500 customers in direct support or general support roles, including the 173rd Airborne Brigade; 1st Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group and various joint units assigned to European Command.

“The 142nd DSSB is the logistical support for the 1st AD, so our area of ​​responsibility is just as large and broad as the 1st AD,” Smith said.

Ramos recently received the Army Commendation Medal from 1st AD Commanding General Maj. Gen. Curtis Taylor for his leadership in transformation.

“I don’t really like being in the spotlight,” Ramos said. “I just do it because it’s my job, not because I want to be recognized. I have a team with me and I know that even if I am recognized, it’s because of them. It’s like a reward for the team and not just for me.”

For other soldiers facing similar challenges, Ramos offers advice: “Someone will always have the right answer. If someone tells you no or that you can’t do something, see if you can get a second opinion from someone else.

The 142nd DSSB also established field doctrinal train command posts where forward support companies and brigade support battalion liaison officers position themselves at the SSA.

“LNOs know their training and what parts are critical to returning combat power to the 1st AD,” Smith explained. “When we have this responsiveness, LNOs can immediately identify the critical parts their units need.”

As units prepare for the next rotation, the 142nd DSSB works to ensure its successors inherit an effective operation.