When thousands of U.S.-based soldiers rapidly deployed to Europe last year following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, some of the combat gear they pulled from storage depots was substandard, according to a new Defense Department report.
The Pentagon’s inspector general examined how Army logistics and infantry units managed the fielding of thousands of pieces of equipment taken from pre-positioned stockpile locations in Europe.
The IG concluded that shortfalls within the Kaiserslautern, Germany-headquartered 405th Army Field Support Brigade resulted in some gear being poorly maintained.
“The issued equipment had operational readiness rates below 90%,” the IG stated, noting that Army regulations set the minimum standard at 90%.
The Feb. 27 report, which was heavily redacted, did not specify how much equipment was unusable.
In March 2022, for the first time, the service issued gear from its Europe-based Army Prepositioned Stock-2 warehouses to an entire armored brigade combat team arriving in Germany from the United States. (end of excerpt)
(Click here for the full story, on the Stars and Stripes website.)
-ends-
