Authorized newspaper of Fort Lewis, Washington
Colonel Brian R. Haebig, left, and Col. Steven W. Risley listen to remarks by Maj. Gen. Robert M. Radin, commander of U.S. Army Sustainment Command, during the change of command ceremony.
There is a story that a handful of logistics professionals years ago sat around a table at Fort Lewis, sketching on a napkin the organization that could best support the installation and units around the Pacific Ocean.
That group formed part of the original staff of what became the little heralded 404th Army Field Support Brigade, which changed command last week. The brigade’s personnel are known among senior Army leaders as critical to assisting in the preparation of Soldiers and equipment to deploy. Upon arrival in theater, members of the 404th AFSB oversee maintainenance of vehicles and equipment to fight the war on terrorism.
Colonel Steven W. Risley relinquished command of the 404th AFSB on July 2 to Col. Brian R. Haebig in a ceremony held in the auditorium of the Fort Lewis Battle Command Training Center. Major General Robert M. Radin, commanding general of the Army Sustainment Command, presided.
Activated on Aug. 15, 2005 as the Army Field Support Brigade-Pacific, the 404th is one of the regional field support brigades under the Army Sustainment Command in Rock Island, Ill., designed to facilitate logistics support to combat units under the Army Transformation concept.
As 404th AFSB commander, Haebig directly supervises lieutenant-colonel commands at Fort Lewis, Fort Irwin, Calif., Alaska, Hawaii and Fort Huachuca, Ariz. These commands support all Reserve, National Guard and active duty units west of Colorado to the Pacific Ocean, excluding Guam, Japan and Korea.
Under Risley, only the unit’s second commander, the 404th AFSB continued its transition process from a traditional maintenance structure to one specific to support the latest equipment and technology, what Risley called critical systems. The new organizational concept was tailored to support units employing the Stryker combat vehicle, configuring logistics support teams to perform dedicated support for active duty, reserve and National Guard brigades.
Subordinate battalions to the 404th AFSB each provide headquarters to three 15-person battalion logistics support teams, staffed by specialists to provide direct support to a separate Stryker brigade combat team.
Risley thanked Radin for his guidance and cooperation in stewarding a fluid support environment, keeping a “primary focus on the Soldier and warfighter.”
The ASC commander said Risley “commanded this brigade brilliantly” and praised him for tackling the big issues during his tenure at the helm of the organization.
“Not too long ago we didn’t deal with the challenges of Army Force Generation, deal with the challenges of reset,” Radin said, “but as time went by the Army recognized the need for an organization like the field support brigade.”
In turn, Radin said he was confident the Army had made the right decision in trusting the 404th AFSB to Haebig.
“I was amazed at how well the system worked,” he said.
Haebig confessed he Googled the unit when he was awarded the command to find out what it did. What he learned since his arrival, the new commander said, was that at its heart, his new organization shares the objectives of every logistics support unit.
“The essence of what our AFSB intends to do is take care of Soldiers,” Haebig said in his remarks, “provide for the support of the Soldier, his kit and equipment — what every logistician strives to do.”
No stranger to leadership positions, after returning from Desert Storm Haebig commanded the Headquarters Support Company in the 407th Support and Transportation Battalion which later became the 407th Forward Support Battalion of the 82nd Airborne Division. In 2003 he assumed command of the 524th Corps Support Battalion at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. He deployed twice in Afghanistan, first commanding Logistics Task Force 524 that supported Combined Joint Task Force-76, the second time to Kabul to command the Headquarters Support Group for the International Security Assistance Force. Risley moves on from Fort Lewis to another position of critical responsibility at Fort McPherson, Ga. “Colonel Risley is going to be Deputy C4 and G4, dual hatted, for 3rd Army,” Radin said. “The responsibilities include policies, procedures and logistics support for all 3rd Army forces, much of our coalition forces and joint forces in Southwest Asia supporting the global war on terrorism.”
Third United States Army, now the Army component and coalition forces land component command for Central Command, whose area of responsibility includes Northern Africa and Central and Southwest Asia, is the primary logistics element responsible for all land forces in the CENTCOM AOR.
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