By Col. Courtney Sugai and Aaron DeCapua, 402nd Army Field Support Brigade
“You will not find it difficult to prove that battles, campaigns, and even wars have been won or lost primarily because of logistics.”
— Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower
FORT SHAFTER, Hawaii – From the Arctic tundra to the equatorial bamboo forests of Southeast Asia, Soldiers of U.S. Army Pacific are rehearsing for operations across the vast and complex geography of the Indo-Pacific. The region covers more than 50 percent of the Earth’s surface and comprises over thousands of islands spanning 36 nations, with diverse languages, cultures, and bilateral and multilateral agreements.
Readiness for large-scale combat operations requires Soldiers to train across all warfighting functions and to build on prior training to advance operational and strategic objectives in the theater. From the power projection platforms (PPPs) at home station to the firing lines defending the territory of allies and partners, the Theater Army Field Support Brigade (AFSB) enables readiness at the tactical edge—integrating capability with supported units and experimenting with strategic solutions at logistics nodes to extend operational reach and sustain endurance.
As Army Sustainment Command’s theater AFSB for U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC), the 402nd AFSB delivers sustainment from the Army Materiel Command (AMC) enterprise to Army units operating throughout the Indo-Pacific, enabling the warfighter through every phase of operations. Logistics professionals in the 402nd AFSB and its assigned Army Field Support Battalions (AFSBns) in Alaska and Hawaii support Soldiers from their arrival at an installation, through training, and during deployment in support of exercises, named operations, or theater posturing initiatives.
Whether supporting a unit field training exercise, humanitarian response to natural or man-made disasters, or operating side by side with allies and partners, the 402nd AFSB is synchronizing, integrating, and delivering enterprise-level logistics solutions to Soldiers at the point of need.
“As USARPAC’s theater AFSB, we need to anticipate requirements for our supported units,” said Col. Courtney Sugai, commander of the 402nd AFSB. “We operate on both sides of the International Date Line across the largest and most populous geographic combatant command. We are training and rehearsing with our supported Army Service Component Command to find ways to support our Soldiers with what they need, when they need it—understanding full well that in crisis, our logistics will be contested not only by adversaries, but also by time, distance, and competition for limited lift assets.”
“We are leaning forward,” Sugai added. “Our teams are embedded, engaged, and actively experimenting with teams of varying size and composition in different places—from the tropics to the Arctic—and actively participating in operational environment analysis so that we better understand it and offer enterprise-level logistics solutions.”
A Theater Sustainment Network in Motion
The 402nd AFSB executes its mission through an integrated architecture of sustainment nodes and subject-matter experts, operating from the brigade headquarters, two Army Field Support Battalions, and Logistics Readiness Centers (LRCs) assigned to those battalions.
• AFSBns in Hawaii and Alaska manage equipment readiness, fleet sustainment, and materiel life-cycle integration.
• LRCs deliver installation-level sustainment including fuel storage and quality control, troop transportation, ammunition storage and distribution, and food service. LRCs support garrisons throughout USARPAC and perform three major functions: supply, transportation, and maintenance.
• Supply: The LRC supplies Soldiers with Organizational Clothing and Individual Equipment through the Central Issue Facility (CIF) and Individual Chemical Equipment Management Program (ICEMP); ammunition through Ammunition Supply Points; food through the Subsistence Supply Management Office (SSMO); and all other classes of supply through the Installation Supply Support Activity (ISSA).
• Transportation: The LRC provides direct transportation support to the garrison to enable power projection and deployment support to tenant units during contingency operations.
• Maintenance: The LRC provides direct maintenance support to the garrison and select tenant units. Tenant units coordinate through their G-4 or S-4 for pass-back maintenance, which may require reimbursement.
Strategic Solutions Through LOGCAP
The Logistics Civil Augmentation Program (LOGCAP) is a contracting vehicle performed by the AFSB to support mobilization and force generation at home station, campaigning, humanitarian operations, multilateral training, and theater posturing west of the International Date Line.
The 402nd AFSB establishes base operations through LOGCAP in support of Operation Pathways exercises in locations such as Guam, the Philippines, and Thailand—and in support of garrison operations on Kwajalein Atoll.
• Logistics Support Elements (LSEs) embed inside the headquarters of supported units at the theater, corps, or division level, aligning sustainment priorities with maneuver timelines and ensuring enterprise-level responsiveness during operations and exercises.
• Life Cycle Management Command (LCMC) integration—with AMC’s four LCMCs: Tank-automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM), Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM), Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM), and Joint Munitions Command (JMC)—brings subject-matter expertise into the field via Senior Command Representatives (SCRs), Logistics Assistance Representatives (LARs), and Field Support Representatives (FSRs).
• LSEs, SCRs, and LARs work with maintainers and sustainers at echelon to support unit readiness before, during, and after every exercise or operation—linking Soldiers to the Army Materiel Enterprise in real time over unit-organic communications platforms.
Integrated in Exercises and Operations
To support the collective goal of a free and open Indo-Pacific, the Joint Logistics Enterprise demands continuous sustainment innovation. Through the 402nd AFSB, AMC is taking iterative steps to prepare Geographic Combatant Command areas of operation by participating in warfighter exercises, Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center rotations, and Operation Pathways.
The 402nd AFSB maintains mission command of AMC enterprise logistics capabilities in theater by embedding liaisons and Logistics Support Elements with supported units such as the 8th Theater Sustainment Command, 25th Infantry Division, and 11th Airborne Division during deployments in support of exercises including Valiant Shield, Yama Sakura, Super Garuda Shield, Talisman Sabre, Salaknib, and Balikatan.
Through the Army Forces (ARFOR) sustainment effort, AFSB LNOs and LSEs connect warfighters to the AMC enterprise both in person and through tele-maintenance. Over the past two years, AFSBn-Hawaii and AFSBn-Alaska have rehearsed sustainment concepts and advanced enterprise-level efforts in tele-maintenance via the Tactical Assault Kit (TAK), visualization and predictive analysis through Army Vantage and Power BI, and other web-based support applications.
Predictive analysis enhances materiel and maintenance management, allowing the sustainment community to anticipate requirements and synchronize available resources for maximum effectiveness. In the Pacific, where distances are measured in thousands of miles, that foresight determines whether the operational tempo is maintained—or slowed by logistical shortfalls.
“Every training exercise and contingency response we execute is underpinned by the 402nd AFSB’s network,” said Col. John Abella, 25th Infantry Division G-4. “Their embedded teams are part of our formations—not just enabling us, but advancing us.”
Support to Army Modernization and Continuous Transformation
The AFSB supports Army modernization efforts and constantly experiments and adapts to the operational environment. In 2025, the 402nd AFSB supported the Army-wide Rapid Removal of Excess (R2E) initiative through the Modernization Displacement and Repair Sites (MDRS) at Schofield Barracks and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska.
Through MDRS, LRCs assigned to AFSBns reduced excess across the 25th Infantry Division, 8th Theater Sustainment Command, and 11th Airborne Division by inducting more than 18,000 pieces of equipment—unburdening warfighters of excess and obsolete materiel and eliminating the requirement to maintain or account for it.
These efforts support Army-wide efforts to address shortages and advance the Regionally Aligned Readiness and Modernization Model (ReARMM). As the Army executes transformation initiatives, the 402nd AFSB continues to provide enterprise support to units as they reorganize and modernize for the future fight.
Supporting Theater Posture
U.S. Army Pacific’s mission is to provide decisive, integrated land power to consolidate gains, succeed in competition, rapidly transition and respond to crisis, and prevail in low-intensity or large-scale conflict—while leading through an era of transformational change.
Adapting the force to meet these challenges requires leaders to analyze emerging geopolitical problems through the lens of experience, history, and lessons learned from Operation Pathways. Through these exercises, the 402nd AFSB and its subordinate battalions rehearse Army Sustainment Command and AMC’s concept of support in the Pacific at the strategic, operational, and tactical levels.
Operation Pathways presents opportunities for experimentation and progress—across a diversity of environments, missions, and command relationships. Whether via contracted supply and maintenance in foreign nations or a LAR providing expertise through TAK platforms, the theater AFSB enables USARPAC by integrating and synchronizing AMC sustainment from home station to the forward edge of operations.
America’s Sustainment Force in the Pacific
The 402nd Army Field Support Brigade is where strategic sustainment meets tactical execution-ensuring every Soldier, vehicle, and mission in the Indo-Pacific is backed by world-class logistics.
As the Army transforms to meet the demands of a rapidly evolving region, the 402nd AFSB stands ready - flexible, embedded, and committed to supporting the warfighter at the speed of need.
| Date Taken: | 07.30.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 08.01.2025 22:25 |
| Story ID: | 544589 |
| Location: | FORT SHAFTER, HAWAII, US |
| Web Views: | 23 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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