APS sends strong message of deterrence

By Greg Wilson, ASC Public Affairs

ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, Ill. – Army Prepositioned Stocks is a game changer in terms of maintaining Army readiness, projecting resolve, and deterrence to adversaries.

“It really reduces that closure time where the Army can project its force into an area during a time of need,” said Christine McCann, APS division chief, “and to satisfy the mission requirements that the Army is being asked to do within those regions.”

The primary purpose of APS is to store Army unit sets of essential equipment in strategic locations around the world, enabling the rapid deployment and sustainment of military forces for priority mission, exercise support or humanitarian/disaster relief. The ability to mobilize quickly can be the difference between successful deterrence and an escalating threat. APS significantly reduces the time required to transport equipment and supplies from the United States to conflict zones, thereby enhancing the Army’s operational readiness.

APS is owned by the Department of the Army and is managed by U.S. Army Sustainment Command, a major subordinate command under U.S. Army Materiel Command.

AMC’s mission is to make sure the Army has the equipment and gear necessary, and ASC makes sure that equipment gets to the Soldiers at the right time, the right place, and in the right condition. As part of its Support Operations directorate, ASC manages and maintains the APS program.

“It projects the Army’s forces and allows us to do our Army mission, which is to fight and win our nation’s wars,” said Greg Stopyra, division chief for Mobilization and Power Projection Platforms. “But it also assures our allies that the U.S. is committed to those regions, and we will also be there in times of crises and contingencies.”

Stopyra supervises the team that synchronizes APS management and strategy within Support Operations.

There are numerous APS sites, in a variety of locations. APS-1 in the United States, APS-2 in Europe, APS-3 Afloat, APS-4 in Northeast Asia, and APS-5 in Southwest Asia. Each is stocked with specific sets of equipment depending on the location and anticipated missions.

Every piece of equipment in the current Army's inventory that is assigned to Soldiers today is the same found in those various sites, around the world.

“We're talking about the tanks, the support vehicles, the same trucks, the same fuel carriers that they have, the cargo trucks,” said McCann. “Everything else that you would see in any Army installation here in the States, it will be that same equipment overseas.”

That’s important as the Soldiers who “fall in” on these pieces of equipment will be familiar with them because they’ve trained with the same kind of gear.

There are also very specialized sets of equipment for specific missions. “We've got bridging sets,” said McCann. “We’ve got hospital sets, pipelines for transferring fuel, and water if we needed to.”

Key components of APS include:

• Vehicles: This category includes armored personnel carriers, tanks, tactical wheeled vehicles and artillery pieces.

• Ammunition: Locations are stocked with a variety of munitions, including artillery shells, missiles, and small arms ammunition.

• Supplies: Medical equipment, maintenance supplies, food, and water are vital for the health and welfare of deployed forces and utilized during humanitarian/disaster relief efforts.

• Support Equipment: This includes communication systems, logistics support equipment, fuel, and transportation assets.

• Specialized Gear: Depending on the anticipated mission, APS may also include specialized equipment such as aircraft, engineering tools, and additional capabilities tailored to specific operational environments.

A critical part of APS is maintenance. Equipment does no good if it’s not fully mission capable. ASC utilizes the skills of Soldiers, Civilians and contractors, including many nationals from countries where the APS sites are located. Stocks are kept in mission capable status through regularly scheduled maintenance.

“A Soldier has to use that equipment and rely upon that equipment to do its job and fully function,” said McCann. “So that's the pride that our APS sites operate with – knowing the next person who touches that equipment might be a Soldier who must take that piece of equipment into combat, and it will function properly for that Soldier. That there must be a lot of, literally and figuratively, a lot of moving parts to make sure it's fully mission capable.”

While the current Prepositioned Stocks program is a couple of decades old, the concept goes all the way back to the 1950s, when it was determined that the best way to deter Cold War adversaries was to make rapid deployment of American and allied forces feasible in case hostilities broke out. Back then, it was called War Reserve Stocks.

Throughout recent history, APS has played a pivotal role in various operations. For example, during the Gulf War in the early 1990s, prepositioned equipment on ships enabled a swift buildup of forces in the region, allowing for rapid deployment and effective combat operations.

Similarly, during humanitarian crises, such as responses to natural disasters, APS has provided critical supplies and equipment to support relief efforts. One example is the use of APS stocks in response to devastation in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands from Hurricane Maria in 2017. The stocks were used to provide immediate relief with food, water, medical supplies and tents for shelter.

There have been many iterations of APS, and it continues to evolve as conditions change. Just recently, a new APS site was established in Poland, which comes under the management of the 405th Army Field Support Brigade at headquartered in Kaiserslautern, Germany.

“The Powidz APS-2 worksite demonstrates the U.S. and NATO's commitment to maintaining rapid deployment capabilities,” said 405th AFSB Commander Col. Ernest Lane, “playing a crucial role in deterrence through enduring agreements and strategic investments.”

“It's an investment that is well worth it,” added Stopyra, “because not only does it provide the Army the ability to rapidly get into an area for regional security and stability, but also for the humanitarian disaster relief if called upon. It’s easy to see why that is a benefit to the Army and our allies.”