The 401st Army Field Support Brigade, located at

Camp Arifjan Camp Arifjan is a United States Army installation in Kuwait which accommodates elements of the United States Air Force, US Air Force, United States Navy, US Navy, United States Marine Corps, US Marine Corps and United States Coast Guard, US Coast ...

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

, after moving from

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

, where it leverages the full might of the Army Materiel Enterprise across Central Command’s area of responsibility in

Southwest Asia West Asia (also called Western Asia or Southwest Asia) is the westernmost region of Asia. As defined by most academics, UN bodies and other institutions, the subregion consists of Anatolia, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Mesopotamia, the Armenia ...

.army.mil
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History

The brigade's primary mission is to provide logistical and maintenance support to sustain the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

that is deployed in the Central Command's area of responsibility, this includes the management and overseeing of supplies, maintenance, the distribution of equipment, as well as coordinating transportation and other logistical functions.

Formation

The brigade traces its history back to the activation of the Combat Equipment Group - Southwest Asia, in October 1997. The command was formed as a result of the Chief of Staff's decision to expand the United States Army Materiel Command's responsibility for war reserve stocks to include the Persian Gulf region. While the unit created Army propositioned stock sets in Qatar, and Kuwait, it underwent a series of name and organisational changes. When the unit assumed responsibility for the Logistics Assistance Program in Southwest Asia, the Combat Engineer Group - Southwest Asia was renamed to the current formation of the Army Field Support Battalion - Southwest Asia. The United States Army Materiel Command began to support operations in Afghanistan in October of 2001. The headquarters moved from Qatar to Kuwait in the Autumn of 2002 as part of the build-up to Operation Iraqi Freedom. The unit was re-designated as the Army Field Support Brigade - Southwest Asia on October 1, 2004, simultaneously, the unit consisted of the Brigade Headquarters in Qatar, the Army Field Support Battalion in Qatar, the Army Field Support Battalion in Kuwait, the Army Field Support Battalion in Afghanistan that was prepositioned at Kuwait Naval Base, as well as the Logistics Support Element at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. The Army Field Support Brigade - Southwest Asia was deactivated on October 16, 2006, when the 401st Army Field Support Brigade was activated. In 2008, the brigade headquarters was deployed to Bagram Airfield. The battalions in Kuwait and Qatar transferred to the 402nd Army Field Support Brigade in 2010 to allow the 401st to focus on operations in Afghanistan. In 2015, the 401st moved their headquarters to Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, and reintegrated their battalions from Kuwait and Qatar to their command. The 402nd then redeployed back to Hawaii.

Former Commanders

{, class="wikitable" , From , To , Commander , - , 2006 , 2007 , COL Greg W. Cusimano , - , 2007 , 2008 , COL Dennis Thompson , - , 2008 , 2009 , COL Jon K. Buonerba , - , 2009 , 2010 , COL Richard B. Dix , - , 2010 , 2011 , COL Richard B. O'Connor II , - , 2011 , 2013 , COL Michel M. Russell, Sr. , - , 2013 , 2014 , COL Edward J. Burke , - , 2014 , 2015 , COL Matthew Ferguson , - , 2015 , 2016 , COL Christopher Day , - , 2016 , 2017 , COL Aaron M. Stanek , - , 2017 , 2018 , COL Carmelia J. Scott-Skillern , - , 2018 , 2019 , COL Jeffrey S. Niemi , - , 2019 , 2020 , COL Charles A. Fisher , - , 2020 , 2021 , COL Michael F. LaBrecque , - , 2021 , 2022 , COL Patrick J. McClelland , - , 2022 , 2023 , COL Thomas R. Boland , - , 2023 , 2024 , COL Misti L. Fordyma , - , 2024 , 2025 , COL Brandon J. Hill , - , 2025 , Present , COL Erin Frazier

Structure

Army Field Support Brigade Kuwait

The Army Field Support Battalion - Kuwait, receives, maintains, and issues Army Prepositioned stocks in support of strategic requirements, provides theatre sustainment support and conducts retrograde operations for the Central Command's Area of Operations. The battalion has a unique organisational structure in that it is composed of a team of soldiers, Department of the Army Civilians, and a contractor support base for a total workforce of more than 2,000 individuals. The battalion's missions relies heavily upon contractors which comprise 98% of the Battalion's workforce. The subordinating unit has been known as the Army Field Support Battalion - Kuwait, since May 21, 2007. It was originally activated as the Combat Equipment Battalion - Kuwait on October 1, 1997 at

Camp Doha Camp Doha was the main U.S. Army base in Kuwait, and played a pivotal role in the U.S. military presence in the Middle East since the 1991 Gulf War and in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The complex is located on a small peninsula on Kuwait Bay, w ...

, Kuwait. The battalion is forwardly deployed to receive, repair, issue, and retrograde Army equipment, the battalion has directly supported units in

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

, and the

Horn of Africa The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...

. In recent years, the battalion rebuilt the Infantry Brigade, Combat Team, retrograded over 10,000 pieces of rolling stock, executed over 1.3 million hours of direct maintenance labour, and maintained accountability for over 700,000 pieces of equipment.

Leadership

As of 2024 the battalion's leadership is as follows:army.mil
/ref> *Battalion Commander - Lieutenant Colonel, Andrew S. Horn *Senior Enlisted Advisor -

Master Sergeant A master sergeant is the military rank for a senior non-commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries. Israel Defense Forces The (abbreviated "", master sergeant) is a non-commissioned officer () rank in the Israel Defense Force ...

, Christopher L. Jackson

Army Field Support Brigade Southwest Asia

The Army Field Support Battalion - Southwest Asia, synchronizes and integrates United States Army Materiel Command assets to focus on Operation Inherent Resolve readiness through the Theater Provided Equipment oversight and Redistribution Property Accountability Team capabilities operationalising logistical support to current and future operations and contributing to the reset of Army stocks. The battalion also provided Brigade Logistics and Regional Logistics support teams to ensure units throughout the Combined Joint Operational Area were logistically supported. Additionally, the battalion expanded its reach into Iraq by establishing a Theater Provided Equipment retrograde and redistribution capability; culminating in a Redistribution Property Accountability Team located at Camp Taji with an additional location in Erbil being planned. It also provides the brigade the material enterprise partners a forward presence and executed critical programs and missions in support of the Regional Logistics Support Teams in Afghanistan. These included tasks such as providing oversight of maintenance operations in support of contracts in Iraq, support for the Coalition and American forces, Responsible Retrograde, consolidation and rightsizing of the force, equipment, and materiel, Theater Provided Equipment, Logistics Assistance Program, and support to Kuwait, Iraq, and Syria. The unit was reflagged during a ceremony at Camp Arifjan with Lieutenant Colonel Timothy Maples assuming command alongside

Sergeant Major Sergeant major is a senior Non-commissioned officer, non-commissioned Military rank, rank or appointment in many militaries around the world. History In 16th century Spain, the ("sergeant major") was a general officer. He commanded an army's ...

Sean Shea assuming responsibility on February 7, 2018. The original Headquarters was established at

Camp Buehring Camp Buehring (formerly Camp Udairi) is a staging post for US troops in the northwestern region of Kuwait. From its founding in January 2003 to the present date, the base was used for military troops heading north into Iraq and is the primary lo ...

, Kuwait, with five Army Sustainment Command soldiers mobilised as a combination of Active Duty, Army Reservists, and National Guardsmen assumed mission command of both Logistic Support Elements in Kuwait and Iraq, tasked with providing material and maintenance support to maximising mission readiness.

Leadership

As of 2024, the battalion's leadership is as follows:army.mil
/ref> *Battalion Commander - Lieutenant Colonel, Waldrell J. Thomas *Senior Enlisted Advisor - Master Sergeant, Jason M. Penfold

References

External links

Official website
Support 401