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Report | Feb. 27, 2023

Evaluation of Army Pre-Positioned Equipment Issued in Response to Ukraine and the NATO Defense Forces (DODIG-2023-053)

Evaluations

Publicly Released: February 27, 2023

 

Objective:

The objective of this evaluation was to determine the extent to which the Army Sustainment Command and 405th Army Field Support Brigade (405 AFSB) maintained and accounted for Army pre‑positioned stocks (APS) of military equipment in their storage areas, and planned for the repair of issued APS‑2 (a site in Europe) equipment in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and in support of the NATO Defense Forces.

 

Background:

In March 2022, for the first time in history, the Army issued APS‑2 equipment, stored in Germany, to an entire armored brigade combat team that deployed to Europe from the United States. The DoD’s efforts to support NATO’s deterrence of Russian aggression after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine used U.S. pre‑positioned stocks and equipment from the APS‑2 equipment set. The United States deployed an additional 7,000 Soldiers, including the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division. The 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team received thousands of vehicles and pieces of equipment from the APS‑2 sites in Germany.

 

Finding:

The 405 AFSB quickly issued APS‑2 equipment to the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team. Some equipment issued from APS‑2 was non‑Fully Mission Capable, and we found that the 405 AFSB can improve its equipment maintenance and coordination processes. Maintenance and coordination shortfalls occurred because:

• the maintenance requirements for APS equipment during storage did not meet the Army maintenance standard;

• the 405 AFSB could not meet the equipment exercise requirements for maintenance of APS equipment during storage;

• the 405 AFSB and 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team prepared for the deployment without coordinated procedures and timelines to prepare and issue equipment from APS‑2 locations; and

• the 405 AFSB lacked clearly defined and consistent procedures during the APS‑2 equipment issuance at the equipment configuration and handover area.

 

Recommendations:

We recommend that the Army officials:

• develop or update, and implement: maintenance processes to track the mission capability of APS equipment, ways to exercise equipment, a checklist to help deploying units coordinate during rapid deployments, and requirements to configure equipment for transport and for combat;

• clarify joint inventory requirements at the equipment configuration and handover area; and

• provide guidance on identifying and ensuring the availability of personnel to support surge requirements for rapid deployments.

 

Management Comments and Our Response:

Army officials agreed with the recommendations.

This report is a result of Project No. D2022-DEV0PC-0145.000.