Photo By Sgt. James Larimer | U.S. Army Col. Aaron Becker, commander of the Division Sustainment Brigade, 3rd...... read more read more
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FORWARD OPERATING SITE POWIDZ, Poland — The Division Sustainment Brigade, 1st Armored Division transferred authority to the Division Sustainment Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division during a ceremony Oct. 2, 2025, at Forward Operating Site Powidz, Poland.
U.S. Army Col. Delarius Tarlton, outgoing DSB, 1AD, Task Force Muleskinner, commander, and Command Sgt. Maj. Olanrewaju Anibaba relinquished responsibility for sustainment operations to Col. Aaron Becker and Command Sgt. Maj. John Kreifels, their 3rd Infantry Division counterparts, during the ceremony.
The transfer concludes a nine-month rotation during which TF Muleskinner transformed sustainment operations across the theater, established new distribution systems and set conditions that will benefit future rotational forces.
"TF Muleskinner was able to achieve what no other Rotational Armed Forces Division Sustainment Brigade has accomplished thus far due to the dedication and professionalism of this team," Tarlton said. "I am honored to be their commander, and I will deploy with them any time."
TF Muleskinner's most significant innovation was the Muleskinner Express, a parts delivery system connecting theater supply support activities directly to brigade combat team maintenance sections.
"The Muleskinner Express was established to deliver Class IX 02 priority parts directly to brigade combat team maintenance teams to cut down not-mission capable supply time and improve readiness," said Maj. Tyler Cline, the DSB, 1AD operations officer.
The shuttle transported thousands of parts and supplies across Europe, becoming the primary source of parts transportation for armored brigade combat teams in the Baltic region, Cline said.
The brigade also changed the ring route system, the primary distribution network moving supplies across AO Victory. By splitting missions between the combat sustainment support battalion and division sustainment support battalion, TF Muleskinner increased delivery frequency from once or twice per week to five days per week.
"This practice increased readiness by ensuring critical parts were being delivered to customer units," Tarlton said.
TF Muleskinner established field trains command posts at every servicing supply support activity across the theater, a capability that decreased parts generation repair time and customer wait time while ensuring critical parts were placed on ring route convoys for distribution, Tarlton said.
Beyond improving distribution, the brigade initiated improvements to the Agreement on Dangerous Goods by Road and Army Commercial Forwarding operations in Poland, eliminating the previous requirement to send equipment to Germany for certification. The brigade also obtained ADR exemptions for Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Hungary and Estonia, allowing military vehicles to operate more freely.
"Building relationships with all sustainment units within the European theater is critical," Tarlton said, citing partnerships with the Defense Logistics Agency, 21st Theater Sustainment Command, 405th Army Field Support Brigade and V Corps as essential to mission success.
The brigade positioned liaison officers at each National Military Coordination Center to assist with expediting march credits and recovery support requests.
TF Muleskinner provided sustainment support to V Corps and TF Iron during Defender Europe 25, Combined Resolve 25-1, Saber Guardian and Swift Response, establishing convoy support centers with Class I supplies, Class III bulk petroleum and water at multiple locations.
“During Defender Europe 25 alone, TF Muleskinner processed, managed and supplied 5,944 cases of meals ready to eat and 192,000 liters of bottled water through four ration breakpoints supporting 7,000 Soldiers across six countries,” Cline said.
"Each exercise required detailed planning sessions with 21st TSC and V Corps logisticians to ensure maneuver forces had the right supplies, in the right place, at the right time," Tarlton said.
Tarlton continued to explain that the brigade managed more than $330 million worth of training and operational project stock Class V ammunition across AO Victory, processing more than 1,060 ammunition requests to support rotational forces, Cline said. In Class I operations, TF Muleskinner processed more than 1,300 actions totaling 2.6 million liters of bottled water and 1.4 million short tons of operational rations and supplements delivered across eight countries.
“TF Muleskinner operated as an expeditionary sustainment command despite having the personnel and structure of a division sustainment brigade,” Tarlton said. “Expeditionary sustainment commands have more personnel and senior-grade positions than division sustainment brigades.”
"Despite those challenges, TF Muleskinner Soldiers stepped up and built relationships with key stakeholders within 21st TSC and V Corps," Tarlton said.
The brigade's material management team saved the Army $39,347,636.80 by processing 19,521 material release orders at the Kaiserslautern Army Depot in Germany, Cline said. When the depot laid off 70 employees, the rotational armed forces team made up more than a quarter of the depot's supply support activity workforce.
At the Baltic Supply Support Activity in Lielvarde, Latvia, the team supported 154 Department of Defense activity address codes and fulfilled 15,499 orders worth $31,205,602.10 while accepting 6,285 recoverable parts and supplies, saving the Army $5,766,263.26, Cline said.
Beyond operational improvements, Anibaba emphasized the professional and personal growth of TF Muleskinner Soldiers during the rotation.
"In my five months of being the brigade command sergeant major, I have seen TF Muleskinner day in and day out make the impossible look possible," Anibaba said. "The amount of hard work that our service members have invested in the U.S. European Command theater would generate dividends for future units."
Several Soldiers advanced in their careers, attaining promotable status and the next rank, Anibaba said. Many graduated from different levels of the Noncommissioned Officer Education System. Two noncommissioned officers were recently recommended for membership in the Sergeant Audie Murphy Club and will participate in the induction ceremony upon redeployment.
"Holistically, our Soldiers and NCOs have learned and grown personally and professionally during the deployment," Anibaba said. "Their level of knowledge today was not what it was when we first arrived in EUCOM."
"Our organization prides itself on being motivated and disciplined," Anibaba said. "We foster an environment that encourages learning, training and winning. Winning in this context does not necessarily mean winning in a competition but rather, delivering sustainment support in a timely manner to the warfighters or end-users."
As TF Muleskinner prepares to redeploy, their innovations in distribution, maintenance operations, transportation and community partnerships will continue to support the sustainment mission in Europe.
"From overhauling the SSA operations to maintenance operations, transportation of various classes of supplies throughout the theater, improving community relationships and building trust and shared understanding with our NATO Allies and partners, our service members have done it all," Anibaba said. "The brigade commander and I are extremely proud of TF Muleskinner's contribution to Operation European Assure Deter and Reinforce."
| Date Taken: | 10.02.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 10.22.2025 09:25 |
| Story ID: | 549957 |
| Location: | POWIDZ, PL |
| Web Views: | 38 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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