GRAFENWOEHR, Germany – During the past two weeks, the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division took possession of the European Activity Set – a large lot of vehicles to outfit a heavy brigade combat team – in preparation for a two-month training period in Europe.
The European Activity Set is a pre-positioned fleet of M1A2 Abrams tanks, M2A2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles, M109 Paladin Self Propelled Howitzers, M88 Armored Recovery Vehicles and more. The EAS is designed to support the rotational Army forces from the U.S.
The EAS will be used for the first time during Combined Resolve II, the largest scheduled multi-national Army exercise in Europe this year. Combined Resolve II will include more than 4,000 soldiers from 13 NATO and European partner nations, and will include maneuver training at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany, and a combined-arms live-fire training event at the Grafenwoehr Training Area.
The Army Materiel Command, or AMC, pieced together the lot of fighting vehicles from deactivating units around the world and tanks from Fort Hood, refurbished the vehicles and shipped the pieces to Germany.
The AMC’s 405th Army Field Support Battalion in Grafenwoehr took accountability of the equipment, and issued the military vehicles and assorted small “basic-issued items” to the rotational forces, while the 16th Sustainment Brigade also provided Soldiers technical and force protection support.
“Some of this equipment is fresh out from reset [or refurbish] and have hardly been run,” said 405th AFSBn commander Lt. Col. William Shinn.
“I was surprised when we all got issued pristine tanks,” said Pfc. Ryan Spelick, an M1A2 Abrams tank driver from C Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment.
“I have been trying my hardest to find faults, but haven’t found any,” the Mount Hamilton, Calif., native added.
The 2-5 Cavalry battalion commander, Lt. Col. Carter Price said, “We’re enormously satisfied with how this has gone, drawing [or signing for] equipment has been a notoriously painful process, this has not been painful at all.”
The European Activity Set was also an opportunity for units to familiarize new Soldiers to equipment that they had never been exposed to.
“There’s stuff out here that we’ve never had the opportunity to [own]. We’ve got a scout system that’s a full generation ahead of what we have at home. It’s a great opportunity for young soldiers to see what right looks like,” said Price.
Shinn said, “After we issue all the equipment, the 16th Sustainment Brigade will pick up the support. [The 1-1 Cav] did not bring their full support battalion, so that’s where the 16th comes in. They are going to provide the fuel, food, and some transportation support such as HET, [or Heavy Equipment Transporter].”
The 405th AFSBn was the driving force for the EAS issue process, but 16th SB Soldiers also assisted with technical maintenance support and force protection.
C 2-5 Soldiers drove their first convoys of EAS equipment with 16th SB convoy guides to their field site at the Hohenfels Training Area on Monday morning.