Anakonda 16 is one of U.S. Army Europe's premier multinational training events that seeks to train, exercise, and integrate Polish national command and force structures into an allied, joint, multinational environment.
Army Reserve units like the 483rd Quartermaster Company, a Marysville, Wash. based logistics unit, will serve as a life-sustaining force for nearly 25,000 service members deployed to Poland for Anakonda 16 in June. This multi-component endeavor brings together active, Army Reserve and National Guard Soldiers all aimed at uniting allies for Europe’s collective security.
Because of the nature of their mission, the 483rd QM Co. are among the first to arrive and last to leave. That’s why Soldiers in the unit have spent every training assembly this year counting, weighing, packing and moving their own equipment ahead of many other unit’s arrival to Poland.
“We are supply. If we don’t have our equipment ready to go, then nobody would get their food or ammunition,” said Spc. Josiah Pittard, an automated logistical specialist with the unit. “If we fail, that would just destroy the entire mission,” Pittard added.
For Pittard and his fellow Soldiers, their mission is to manage the movement of food by road convoys to their warehouse operations. Soldiers in the unit are skilled forklift operators, tactical vehicle drivers and understand the importance of maintaining sufficient supply stocks and accurate records.
The mission in Poland will be Pittard’s first overseas action he said. “I’m extremely excited. It’s cool to be able to leave the country finally. I’ve always wanted to be deployed and this is as close as I have been so far.”