Features

Pennsylvania Soldier sets stage for Allied Operations in Europe

Story and photos by Eleanor Prohaska
21st Theater Sustainment Command
April 22, 2022

When U.S. military personnel need to locate a Bradley Fighting Vehicle or armored personnel carrier in Europe, U.S. Army Capt. Zachary Zanetti can tell them where to find one. As commander of the 260th Movement Control Team, 39th Transportation Battalion, the Philadelphia native moves military fighting vehicles and heavy equipment throughout Europe, ensuring the U.S. and its allies are poised to respond quickly to world events.

Capt. Zachary Zanetti (far right) commands the 260th Movement Control Team, 39th Transportation Battalion, 16th Sustainment Brigade, 21st Theater Sustainment Command, which received approximately 350 U.S. and U.K. tactical military vehicles and equipment at the port in Esbjerg, Denmark, April 6, 2022. The port operation, which also involved the 598th Transportation Brigade, host nation Soldiers and civilians, led by the United Kingdom’s 104th Theater Enabling Group, was part of Atlantic Resolve; a series of bilateral, multinational training exercises involving more than a dozen countries. The vehicles and equipment support the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division based out of Fort Carson, Colorado.

In March and April, Zanetti and his team, who are part of the 16th Sustainment Brigade, 21st Theater Sustainment Command, helped move a brigade’s worth of military equipment from the U.S. through ports in Greece, the Netherlands and Denmark. The transportation of more than 2,000 units, including Abrams main battle tanks and Paladin self-propelled cannon artillery systems, was part of the incoming Atlantic Resolve rotation. Since April 2014, U.S. Army Europe and Africa has led the Department of Defense’s Atlantic Resolve land efforts by rotating units based in the U.S. to Europe.

At the most recent port operation in Esbjerg, Denmark, April 6, 2022, the 260th MCT worked side by side with the 598th Transportation Brigade, host nation Soldiers and civilians, and the United Kingdom’s 104th Theater Enabling Group to receive equipment and set the stage for onward movement to Poland.

A Soldier drives a Bradley Fighting Vehicle off the ARC Endurance transit vessel at the Port of Esbjerg, April 6, 2022. Soldiers from 598th Transportation Brigade and the 21st Theater Sustainment Command’s 39th Transportation Battalion worked with Danish Soldiers, civilians and the United Kingdom’s 104th Theater Enabling Group, as part of Atlantic Resolve; a series of bilateral, multinational training exercises involving more than a dozen countries. The vehicles and equipment support the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division based out of Fort Carson, Colorado.

The equipment supports the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division based out of Fort Carson, Colorado. Their deployment marks the first time three armored brigades have been deployed in Europe at the same time since 2007. The other armored brigades currently in Europe are the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division and 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division.

“This demonstrates our ability to build combat power, maintain readiness and deploy anywhere in the European theater area of operations on a moment’s notice,” said Zanetti.

Capt. Zachary Zanetti worked and lived side by side with other U.S., Danish and British soldiers at Denmark’s Oksbol Military Training Facility to prepare for port operations in Esbjerg, Denmark April 6, 2022. Zanetti is commander for the 260th Movement Control Team, 39th Transportation Battalion, 16th Sustainment Brigade, 21st Theater Sustainment Command. The port operation, led by the United Kingdom’s 104th Theater Enabling Group, was part of Atlantic Resolve; a series of bilateral, multinational training exercises involving more than a dozen countries. About 350 U.S. and U.K. tactical military vehicles and equipment, supporting the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, was unloaded and prepared for onward movement.

Zanetti, who received his Army commission at Scranton University in 2016, is mindful of the importance of that message.

The Atlantic Resolve rotations have been a strong show of support to our allies and partners in Europe,” said Zanetti.

Zanetti knows what it takes to get the job done.

“My Father served in the Air Force for 28 years and deployed nine times when I was growing up in Philadelphia,” he said. “That impression as a kid carried over to my adult life that morphed into an obligation to serve my country.”

He appreciates the support he has received from family and friends back home in Abington, Pennsylvania.

“They go out of their way to thank me for [my] service, especially being in the European AOR [area of operations],” he said. “We actually received a package of letters from the Abington school district, where my father works, wishing all the Soldiers currently involved in contingencies and part of Atlantic Resolve to be safe and thanking them for their service. I communicate to my Soldiers that there are heaps of individuals in the states that support everything we do.”

What they do, according to Zanetti, is help senior military leaders know where equipment and personnel are and where they are headed at any time, so they can make better-informed tactical decisions. In keeping with the Army’s Regionally Aligned Readiness and Modernization Model to sustain readiness and facilitate modernization, Zanetti’s unit is field-testing the Distributional Retrograde Adaptive Planning and Execution Management program. DRAM uses artificial intelligence, special labels and radio frequency identification tags to provide and update vehicle and equipment status in real time.

In addition to providing the opportunity to test logistics technology, Atlantic Resolve enhances interoperability with host nation partners and NATO allies. Weeks of planning, living and working together to prepare for the Esbjerg port operation built personal and professional relationships with Soldiers from partner nations.

“Interoperability is integral to the success of working across national boundaries,” said Zanetti. “Here at the Port of Esbjerg we’ve had constant interaction with our United Kingdom partners, Danish Port Authorities’ and Danish Armed Forces. Everything from escorts, life support, base access, and accommodations is a collaborative effort between our three nations.”

Additional Atlantic Resolve countries include Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. Zanetti said traveling to different nations, learning about different cultures and working with diverse individuals are among the highlights of serving in the Logistics Corps.

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