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US Army Opens Facility Hosting Combat-Ready Military Equipment in Poland

The US ambassador to Poland, at the opening ceremony for Poland's first Long Term Equipment Storage and Maintenance-Complex at Air Base Powidz, April 5, 2023. Image: Staff Sgt. Agustin Montanez/ US Army

The US Army has opened a military equipment and logistics complex in Poland, increasing its capacity to respond to aggression in Eastern Europe.

The Long Term Equipment Storage and Maintenance Complex is designed to host an “armored brigade combat team’s worth of combat-ready military equipment,” the US Army wrote in a statement.

Such a team comprises nearly 5,000 personnel, 87 Abrams tanks, 152 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, 18 M109 155mm howitzers, and 45 M113 armored personnel carriers.

To House 2,700 Military Pieces

Spread over 60 hectares, the facility at the 33rd Air Base in Powid will have seven huge warehouses housing 2,700 pieces of military equipment such as tanks and vehicles.

The $182 million facility also has 12 maintenance bays, a railhead, and a wash rack, according to Defence Today.

It’s the largest infrastructure project funded by NATO and the US in 30 years. 

An M2A3 Bradley Fighting Vehicle during the Opening Ceremony for Poland’s first Long Term Equipment Storage and Maintenance-Complex at Air Base Powidz. Photo: Staff Sgt. Agustin Montanez/US Army

To Facilitate Faster Deployment

“This facility will ensure we can continue to be fast. It will allow us to deploy an entire armored brigade combat team in an expeditious manner, and it will significantly cut down on deployment timelines,” US Ambassador to Poland Mark Brzezinski said.

Polish deputy prime minister Mariusz Błaszczak added that US forces will now be able to support Polish forces “in just a few days.”

“The very fact of building this base is a very important element of deterring the aggressor and showing solidarity within the North Atlantic Alliance,” he said.

Meanwhile, the US opened its first permanent military base in Poland last month. Located in the western city of Poznan, it’s the eighth permanent US military base in Europe. 

More than 10,000 US soldiers are currently stationed in Poland.

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