SUBIC BAY, Philippines -- Soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division drew equipment from Army Prepositioned Stock-3, also known as APS afloat, for use during Salaknib 22, which kicked off March 5. Salaknib is an annual bilateral exercise led by the Philippine Army and sponsored by U.S. Army Pacific designed to enhance U.S. and Philippine Army capacity and interoperability.

“Army Prepositioned Stock-3, also known as APS afloat, consists of forward-staged vessels containing combat ready equipment sets, along with the sustainment assets to maintain the equipment in theater,” said Lt. Col. Christopher Manganaro, the commander of Army Field Support Battalion-Charleston. “My battalion maintains and sustains APS-3 when it is forward deployed, such as during this exercise, and also at our home station at Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina when an equipment set goes through its maintenance reset cycle.”

APS-3 is the Army’s only equipment set afloat and provides the warfighter flexibility and agility by housing full operational capable equipment ready and postured to respond quickly in support of combatant commanders’ requirements.

U.S. Naval Ship Red Cloud docked at Subic Bay, Philippines, where the equipment was downloaded and moved to an equipment configuration handoff area, also known as an ECHA, in order to be inventoried and prepared for the tactical ground unit who will use the equipment throughout Salaknib 22.

“The employment of Army Prepositioned Stocks afloat during Salaknib 22 exercises the Army’s strategic readiness capabilities and demonstrates its ability to rapidly project power in the Indo-Pacific theater during competition as well as during crisis and conflict,” said Col. Erik Johnson, commander of the 402nd Army Field Support Brigade overseeing the APS-3 operation.

During a visit to the ECHA, 25th Infantry Division Deputy Commander – Support, Col. Phillip C. Baker, lauded Manganaro for the state the equipment was in.

“AFSBn-Charleston does a fantastic job not only keeping these vehicles fully operational but also having a full set of shop stock and additional materiel my Soldiers will need in the field,” said Baker. “Having the APS capability available in the Indo-Pacific Theater saves time and increases the readiness of the 25th Infantry Division.”

Baker explained that by having equipment ready for them in theater, his Soldiers do not have to prepare their equipment for shipping, and port operations do not need to be conducted to get the unit’s equipment from home station forward.

“Focus can be on mission planning rather than equipment preparation knowing they will receive equipment in excellent shape. Saving weeks and weeks of time, that’s what APS-3 is all about,” said Baker.

Once the ECHA team verified all the equipment was at full operational capability, the Soldiers arrived at the site for AFSBn-Charleston to issue the vehicles to the unit.

“We staged the ECHA in a very deliberate way to facilitate a seamless issue to the 25th Infantry Division Soldiers,” said Manganaro. “The planning between all coordinating organizations was critical and because of that, the equipment draw was successful.”