by Justin Graff, 401st AFSB Public Affairs
CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait — The acting Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology visited the 401st Army Field Support Brigade here, May 3, to get a firsthand look at how the brigade provides logistic support throughout the U.S. Army Central Command footprint.
Katrina McFarland, acting assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology sits in a MaxxPro mine-resistant ambush protected (MRAP) vehicle during her visit to the 401st Army Field Support Brigade at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, May 3. (Photo by Justin Graff, 401st AFSB Public Affairs)
Katrina McFarland, acting assistant secretary of the Army (AL&T), toured equipment warehouses and spoke with 401st Army Field Support Brigade Commander, Col. Chris Day about logistic challenges and innovations in supporting such a large area of operation.
“There’s so much going on in theater. The environment is very complex,” McFarland said. “They have to show so much adaptability to keep readiness high.”
The tour began with a briefing at the 401st AFSB headquarters, where McFarland and a small group of military leaders and logisticians discussed communication and continuity challenges caused by high turnover rates of personnel.
“Everybody is communicating the same message,” McFarland said. “Do we have the right equipment? Do we have the number of people we need to support theater operations? I want people back home, and here in the field, to see all the hard work we do here.”
McFarland received short briefings from maintenance experts and had an opportunity to get a close look at some military equipment and vehicles.
401st Army Field Support Brigade Commander, Col. Chris Day (right), discusses logistics support and maintenance with Katrina McFarland, acting assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology during a tour of brigade facilities at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, May 3. (Photo by Justin Graff, 401st AFSB Public Affairs)
The opportunity for McFarland to see the current equipment is good for logistics and acquisition relationships, said Day.
“Having Mrs. McFarland here is an important visit,” Day said. “The acquisition community and the AMC community are strategically linked to provide that readiness capability to the warfighter.”
The 401st AFSB provides logistic support throughout the CENTCOM Theater, in tandem with three Army Field Support Battalions and 1st Theater Sustainment Command.
“As logisticians, we have access to all the tools and logistics mechanisms of Army Materiel Command and Army Sustainment Command, but locally our requirements come from TSC,” Day said. “This makes us unique as AMC’s face to the field, and gives us a unique ability to provide a strategic level capability to the CENTCOM and ARCENT theaters.”
McFarland and Day exchanged coins at the end of the visit. McFarland also presented coins to maintenance experts during her tour of 401st AFSB facilities.
MRAP Site Lead Bryan Valentino discusses maintenance of MaxxPro mine-resistant ambush protected (MRAP) vehicles with Katrina McFarland, acting assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology during a tour of brigade facilities at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, May 3. (Photo by Justin Graff, 401st AFSB Public Affairs)
