We Are Army Sustainment Command

Permanent Change of Station moves can be stressful. Being prepared and planning ahead can make the process easier. Robert Smerdon, an Installation Transportation Officer with Logistics Readiness Center Carlisle Barracks offers several tips for those undergoing a move this PCS season. This LRC is under the U.S. Army Sustainment Command, which handles the logistics of PCS moves for the Army.

“See first, understand first, act first.” This doctrinal phrase underscores how INFORMATION is fundamental to Army readiness. At the U.S. Army Sustainment Command, that idea is more than a guiding principle. It’s the daily work of thousands of people whose efforts rarely make headlines, but quietly shape the Army’s ability to train, deploy, and fight to win. ASC’s mission is straightforward: turn INFORMATION into action to get supplies and equipment to Soldiers when and where they need it.

In late February a blizzard swept across Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, burying the Army installation in nearly two feet of snow. In surrounding communities, life grinded to a halt. Schools closed, stores closed, and people stayed indoors. But APG, home to emergency services, critical military research, weapons testing and thousands of people supporting Army readiness, could not simply shut down and wait out the storm. Fortunately, the Logistic Readiness Center APG was ready.

Their footsteps speak: sharp taps, crisp heels, precision in motion. These aren’t standard‑issue shoes; they are shaped by the hands of Tom Casarez, the Army’s only cobbler, whose craft keeps Soldiers moving with the exactness their mission demands. While he makes shoes for the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, commonly known as “The Old Guard”, Casarez works under the 406th Army Field Support Brigade’s Logistics Readiness Center Joint Base Meyer-Henderson Hall, Virginia.

With support from the U.S. Army Sustainment Command, Victory Fresh at the Garrison Warrior Restaurant at Fort Lee, Virginia, now delivers fast, nutritious meals that help Soldiers boost performance and readiness. A ribbon cutting recently marked the opening, making this the second spot on the map for Victory Fresh. Victory Fresh is one of the many initiatives enabled through ASC and its subordinate Logistics Readiness Centers.

Experts from around the Army and industry will come together to address what the service is doing to “Delivering Victory: Leveraging the Army's Industrial Might” during the Association of the United States Army’s Global Force Symposium and Exhibition, March 24-26, at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Alabama. It will feature in-depth discussions including a U.S. Army Materiel Command-led keynote and a contemporary military forum on “Partnering with Industry to Revolutionize Garrison Feeding” March 25 at 9 a.m. CDT.

As the United States approaches its 250th birthday, we are reminded by the American Revolution that the nation's independence was won not only by battlefield bravery but also by extraordinary feats of logistical ingenuity. The British evacuation of Boston on 17 March 1776, a date still celebrated as Evacuation Day in Massachusetts, stands as one of the Continental Army's first major strategic victories. This pivotal success, however, would have been impossible without a preceding logistical miracle. This impressive feat would come to be known as the "Noble Train of Artillery," a testament to the Continental Army's ability to project power through sheer will and meticulous planning.

The Logistics Support Element (Division), assigned to the 402nd Army Field Support Brigade under the U.S. Army Sustainment Command, served as a conduit between the 11th Airborne Division and the U.S. Army Materiel Command enterprise accelerating solutions that extended beyond the tactical level at the Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center Alaska.

The U.S. Army Sustainment Command’s Supply Chain Operations Directorate moves quietly in the background, coordinating the Army’s supply picture in ways that ripple across every formation. A unit’s equipment, ammunition, repair parts and everyday Soldier gear relies on a continuing feed of materiel, from the mundane to the mission critical. The focus of SCOD is the supply chain itself: the process of getting supplies and equipment from one location to another and ultimately to where the Soldier needs it.

III Armored Corps and Fort Hood marked a milestone in Army food service modernization Feb. 18 with the official grand opening of 42 Bistro, the Army’s first campus-style dining venue. Led by the U.S. Army Materiel Command, the effort leverages private industry expertise to operate installation dining facilities in a model similar to those on college campuses. The approach directly responds to Soldier feedback requesting greater menu variety, expanded hours and improved dining environments.