Focused on Readiness: U.S. Army Europe Deploys 1,000-Person Turnkey Base Camp in Poland

Powidz, Poland – a small village town with a population of 1,000 is set to experience a population explosion with the delivery of more than a brigade’s worth of military vehicles, equipment, artillery and personnel. The planning and execution of the force growth is part of a continued collaborative deterrence and defense effort led by U.S. Army Europe (USAREUR), the Polish Ministry of National Defence, Allied Forces, and NATO.

Expansion and build-up of combat-ready stocks at the 33rd Air Base, operated by the Polish Air Force, is already under way. Poland was selected based on its geography and proximity to existing hubs, including the NATO Enhanced Forward Presence unit. Strategically, Powidz offers USAREUR a centrally located theater of operations to expand the footprint of land forces, focus on readiness, and quickly amass pre-positioned military equipment and firepower along NATO’s eastern flank.

Described as the “center of the center of gravity” by U.S. Army Europe’s Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, the plan is to transform the air base into a major hub for the Baltics and all of Northern Europe. As tasked by Hodges, military planners were instructed ‘not to think small’ and to realize the military capability and potential of Powidz. Over the next two years, $70 million will be spent on 77 military infrastructure and improvement projects for both U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force operations. An additional $200 million in NATO funds will be spent for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to construct a new storage site and warehouse facility in Powidz.

“Any contingency we have to deal with, we’ll almost certainly have to come through Poland,” Hodges explained. In order to rapidly establish a military presence to defend Europe, the infrastructure and resources required to achieve speed of assembly were considered when awarding military contracts. Working with KBR, Alaska Defense^® was selected to establish a semi-permanent and complete 1,000-person RSOI (Reception, Staging, Onward Movement Integration) base to support rapid force buildup and Eastern Europe military operations.

Working alongside KBR staff, Alaska Defense personnel completed the setup of the 1,000-person turnkey base camp in less than 18 days. “It’s about doing the hard work to understand infrastructure procedures,” Hodges said in preparation for the opening ceremony scheduled August 1, 2017. The following military shelters and support systems were produced, shipped, and deployed on time and within the contract budget:

• (75) Billeting Shelters
• Containerized Shower and Latrine Facilities
• Water Distribution Systems
• (3) Dining Facilities – Capable of seating 1,000 people, 3 times a day and complete with drink coolers, hot serving counters, tables and chairs
• (3) Containerized Kitchen Units – Capable of preparing hot meals for 1,000 people, 3 times a day
• (1) Gym Facility
• (1) Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) Facility
• (1) USO Facility
• (11) Generators – with fuel bladders

Per the awarded contract, all military shelter systems provided by Alaska Defense are equipped with lighting, electrical, and power distribution systems, as well as a cold weather package that includes our proprietary EnerLayer™ insulation system. Alaska EnerLayer® insulation system provides drastic energy savings – reducing energy consumption and heating costs by as much as 35%. The gym, MWR, and USO facilities are configured with hard flooring systems.

According to U.S. European Command Chief Gen. Curtis M. Scaparrotti, with the assistance of an increased Pentagon budget, he envisions and is planning for an expanded military presence in Europe to include a full Army division. If approved, the Amy will need systems and infrastructure for basing a division’s worth of forces and equipment. Alaska Defense maintains a stockpile of (200+) 20’ x 32.5’ military shelters, complete with Alaska ECU^® (environmental control units), beds and cots, generators, power distribution systems, lighting and electrical systems for immediate deployment, within 24-hours to any location in the world. Additionally, Alaska Defense also maintains (8) 4,500 square foot medical facilities with 50-beds each.

Military shelters systems from Alaska Defense provide a safe, reliable, and scalable infrastructure platform to support all military redeployment strategies, including the establishment of forward operating sites to support a projection platform as well as forward logistics hubs to support readiness and sustainment capabilities.

Have an urgent military shelter system requirement? Call us at +1-575-541-9116. To send a general inquiry for more information, please complete our online form.