Army activates sustainment brigade as part of Pacific restructuring

Col. Dennis Han, commander of the 45th Sustainment Brigade, and Command Sgt. Maj. Craig Yates, the brigade’s senior enlisted advisor, uncase the 45th Sustainment Brigade colors during a reactivation ceremony at Torii Station, Okinawa, Japan, Oct. 6, 2026. U.S. Army / Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Keeler

The change will bring some additional soldiers to Okinawa, Japan.

The Army shuttered one Okinawa-based support unit and reactivated a larger one, part of the broader effort to prepare for a potential conflict in the expansive theater.

The closure of the 10th Support Group and the reestablishment of the 45th Sustainment Brigade will give the service a brigade-level headquarters that can better command and control sustainment capabilities in the region, said Col. Dennis Han, who leads the new unit. It will also mean a “small growth” in the number of soldiers at Torii Station, but no additional infrastructure at the base on Okinawa’s west coast.

While the 10th Support Group was focused on providing logistics support within Japan, the change to 45th Sustainment Brigade broadens the aperture to the entire Pacific.

The Army is “heavily investing in the emerging requirements here,” and this is part of the service’s response, Han said. “Over the next couple of years, we’re looking forward to building our staff, building our capacity to be prepared for whatever comes our way.”

Maj. Gen. James Dooghan, commander of U.S. Army Japan, said in a release that the ceremony was "more than casing one set of colors and uncasing another. ... It is about continuity and transformation, ensuring our Army is positioned to sustain the force wherever and whenever it is needed."

Sustainment is a perennial topic at regional conferences. At AUSA’s Land Forces Pacific in May, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command leader Adm. Samuel Paparo noted that the Army “delivers foundational sustainment capabilities to the entire joint force. And I’m fervent in my belief that nobody knows or senses or feels viscerally the scale of sustainment than our nation’s Army.”

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2026年10月6日，在日本冲绳岛鸟居站举行的第45后勤旅重新启用仪式上，第45后勤旅旅长丹尼斯·韩上校和该旅高级士官长克雷格·耶茨军士长揭开旅旗。美国陆军/一级军士长马修·基勒摄

这一变动将为日本冲绳增派一些士兵。

陆军关闭了一支驻冲绳的支援部队，并重新启用了一支规模更大的部队，这是为应对广阔战区可能发生的冲突而采取的更广泛措施的一部分。

第10支援大队的解散和第45后勤旅的重建将使海军拥有一个旅级司令部，能够更好地指挥和控制该地区的后勤保障能力。新部队指挥官丹尼斯·韩上校表示，这也意味着鸟居基地的士兵人数将略有增加，但不会在冲绳西海岸的该基地增建任何基础设施。

第 10 支援大队专注于为日本提供后勤支援，而第 45 后勤保障旅的调整则将服务范围扩大到整个太平洋地区。

韩表示，陆军正在“大力投资以满足这些新兴需求”，这是陆军应对措施的一部分。“未来几年，我们期待着扩充人员队伍，提升自身能力，以便应对未来可能出现的任何情况。”

美国陆军驻日司令詹姆斯·杜根少将在声明中表示，此次仪式“不仅仅是收起一面军旗，再展开另一面军旗……它关乎延续与转型，确保我们的陆军能够在任何需要的时候、任何地点维持战斗力。”

后勤保障一直是区域性会议的热门话题。在5月份举行的美国陆军协会太平洋陆军会议上，美国印太司令部司令塞缪尔·帕帕罗海军上将指出，陆军“为整个联合部队提供基础性的后勤保障能力。我坚信，没有人比我们国家的陆军更了解、更能切身感受到后勤保障的规模。”

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