From October 28 to 31, 2025, the 593rd Corps Sustainment Command and the 8th Theater Sustainment Command co-hosted the Army Pacific Sustainment Workshop (APSW) at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, bringing together lead sustainment planners and technicians from 26 organizations across the Indo-Pacific region for a pivotal engagement in operational logistics and medical support planning. Units that participated in the event included Joint Logistics and Health Commands from the Australian Defence Force, U.S. Army Pacific, Marine Forces Pacific, U.S. Army Japan, I Corps, 8th Army, I and III Marine Expeditionary Forces, 18th Theater Medical Command, 1st and 3d Marine Logistics Groups, and five U.S. Army Expeditionary Sustainment Commands, among many others.
The week-long conference served as a strategic forum for collaboration among sustainment professionals tasked with supporting U.S. Army operations and allied partnerships throughout the Pacific theater. With growing regional demands and evolving mission requirements, the workshop focused on refining enduring logistics and medical command and control mechanisms essential for joint and multinational operations.
“Participation in the APSW allowed 3d Marine Logistics Group logistics planners to develop a shared understanding of the theater sustainment framework,” said Col. Kyle Opel, G3 for the 3d Marine Logistics Group. “This collaborative planning opportunity between the U.S. Army and Marine Corps provided each organization a preview of the resource competitive environment that will exist within the transition from competition to crisis; a lesson that will greatly improve future planning for an operational employment of functional logistics capabilities. 3d MLG looks forward to continued involvement with 8th TSC and 593d CSC theater sustainment planning efforts as partners in the INDOPACIFIC theater.”
Participants worked intensively throughout the workshop to develop and refine four foundational frameworks critical to theater sustainment. These included setting the theater, which involves establishing the necessary conditions and infrastructure for sustained operations such as pre-positioned stock, receiving forces, and integrating capabilities. They also focused on designing theater sustainment architecture that is both scalable and responsive to the unique logistical challenges of the Indo-Pacific, spanning island chains and vast maritime corridors.
"Bringing together sustainment leaders from across the region strengthens not just our logistics networks, but our partnerships," said Col. Erin Miller, commander of the 593rd Corps Sustainment Command. "The workshop showcased how shared planning and interoperability are key to building the resilience and agility needed to meet the challenges of sustaining forces across the Pacific."
Joint Theater Distribution Centers were another key area, aimed at streamlining distribution nodes to enable rapid, synchronized delivery of materiel and medical resources across joint forces. Finally, participants clarified sustainment command relationships to ensure unity of effort and seamless coordination among sustainment units, strengthening the overall command and control structure for logistics and medical support.
U.S. Army Col. Taylor Jones, G3 for 364th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, emphasized that, ““Cross component and joint sustainment collaboration is critical for operational support and future planning; and that work was on full display during the APSW”.
The APSW underscored the importance of proactive planning and interoperability in a region marked by vast distances, diverse terrain, and complex geopolitical dynamics. By fostering collaboration among planners, logisticians, and medical support teams, the workshop reinforced the Army’s commitment to readiness and resilience in support of allies and partners.
“The APSW was a great opportunity to partner with one of our closest allies in planning for operations and scenarios with the shared goal of maintaining a free and secure Pacific,” said Major Shane Balcombe, Regional Health Planner, Headquarters Joint Operations Command, Australian Defence Force. “The United States and Australia have a strong relationship and a shared history of cooperating in the most challenging of battlefields and we are honored to continue to stand next to our mates in future challenges the world may face.”
As the U.S. Army continues to adapt to the demands of large-scale operations and integrated deterrence, events like the APSW remain vital to shaping the future of sustainment in the Pacific theater.