No changes to Army prepositioned stocks after Global Posture Review

Last year's Global Posture Review probably will not lead the Army to transfer any of its prepositioned stocks from one region of the world to another, according to the general who oversees the stocks.

“I don’t personally believe, based on the guidance that I’ve gotten, that we’ll be moving stocks from one [area of responsibility] to another,” Gen. Edward Daly, the leader of Army Materiel Command, said on a Feb. 1 call with reporters. “Right now, I have no order to move stocks from one location to another.”

If there are changes to the levels of prepositioned stocks, it would come from additions to the weapon platforms stored at existing locations, he said.

The Army stores prepositioned stocks of vehicles and other weapon systems at various bases around the world, so that units can deploy without having to ship all their equipment. The storage is concentrated in Europe, the Middle East and East Asia, as well as on ships that travel between regions.

Growing the prepositioned stocks has become a priority for Materiel Command, especially in the Indo-Pacific, which will require consistent funding for many years.

The classified Global Posture Review did not recommend transferring force structure between different parts of the world, although it was intended to further the military’s turn to the Indo-Pacific.

Daly declined to comment during the call on what plans might be in place for prepositioned stocks to support soldiers deploying to Eastern Europe amid tensions with Russia. He also declined to enumerate how many units could employ the stocks.

“We have done nothing to reposition stocks based on hypotheticals of what is going on in Europe right now,” he said.

Over the past decade, the Army has upgraded the vehicles in its prepositioned stocks, to ensure that it is not made up entirely of old equipment, Daly said. The stocks have been also used more often for exercises.