Multiple Reserve units provide unique capabilities to austere European exercise

Photo By Maj. Marvin Baker | The 364th ESC prepared to move more than 100 pieces of equipment that included containers, wheeled vehicles and other palletized items by land, sea and air to various ports in the United States. The shipments will be loaded onto aircraft and cargo ships bound for Europe later this month. Soldiers in the ESC will use the equipment to conduct their sustainment mission in Poland’s Anakonda 16. AN 16 is the largest, periodic (biannual, since 2006) joint exercise of the Polish Armed Forces with the international participation of Allies and Partners. It will take place between 7-17 June 2016 in the military training areas of the whole country and international air and sea space of the Baltic Sea.  

MARYSVILLE, WA, UNITED STATES

04.20.2016

Story by Maj. Marvin Baker 

364th Expeditionary Sustainment Command

MARYSVILLE, Wash.-The majority of medical logistics, postal-personnel services, and quartermaster capabilities are located in U.S. Army Reserve units. That’s why nearly 2000 Army Reserve Soldiers will deploy to Poland in June in support of Anakonda 16, a Polish National Defense-led exercise designed to demonstrate the ability of multinational forces to quickly mass its forces.
For the Army Reserve, the test will be primarily with the 364th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), a Marysville, Washington based Army Reserve unit, as the lead sustainment command deployed in the theater of operations.
The 364th ESC is a deployable expeditionary command that manages the Army’s supply systems in conjunction with other logistics, transportation, and personnel units. The ESC provides theater-level logistics command and control for the theater commander.
During Anakonda 16, the ESC will lead active component and National Guard sustainment units in addition to Army Reserve Soldiers who will conduct theater opening activities such as receiving all material coming into Polish sea and airports headed to nearly 27,000 joint service members deployed across Poland for this three-week exercise, said Capt. Trista Budzynski of the 364th ESC’s logistics section.
The Army’s supply systems work well in the continental United States or in long-established areas of operations Budzynski said.
“However, we will be doing this mission in austere conditions,” Budzynski said. “That means we have to think about our work in a different way than we have during our past deployments. We will not be on an established forward operations base. We will have to establish our own life support systems,” she added.

• Date Taken: 04.20.2016
• Date Posted: 04.20.2016 15:20
• Story ID: 195931
• Location: MARYSVILLE, WA, US