The Army has relieved a Colonel in charge of a Brigade that provides field support to Army units in Europe and Africa, citing a “loss of trust and confidence in her ability to command.”
The Commander, Colonel Crystal Hills of the 405th Army Field Support Brigade, was fired in November by Army Sustainment Command boss Maj. Gen. David Wilson, service spokeswoman Kimberly Conrad confirmed Monday.
Conrad did not provide further details regarding Hills’ removal, including whether the Army is investigating any alleged misconduct.
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The 405th AFS Brigade, headquartered at Daenner Kaserne in Kaiserslautern, Germany, falls under the 21st Theater Sustainment Command for U.S. Army Europe and Africa.
Hills took command of the brigade in 2022, according to an Army release. The brigade orchestrates acquisition, maintenance and other logistics for soldiers across Europe and Africa, as well as the joint forces that rely on Army stocks.
As a lieutenant colonel, Hills previously commanded the Army Field Support Battalion-Africa until 2018. The battalion managed the Army’s stockpile of weapons and supplies used by troops “south of the Alps,” particularly the 173rd Airborne Combat Brigade in Europe and Army units in Africa, according to an Army release. The unit also managed humanitarian aid supplies for the Defense Security Cooperation Agency.
The Army declined to say who has replaced Hills in the brigade’s top job or where she was reassigned.
On June 1, 2018, Hills relinquished command of the Army Field Support Battalion–Africa to Lt. Col. Michelle Agpalza during a change of command ceremony held at the Army Prepositioned Stock-2 warehouse at Leghorn Army Depot.
Under Hills’ leadership, the battalion successfully fulfilled its mission of receiving, maintaining, storing and issuing Army Prepositioned Stocks, linking national logistics capabilities and providing logistics solutions to Army units “South of the Alps,” particularly the 173rd Airborne Combat Brigade, U.S. Army Africa, and other strategic partners.
Hills also played a key role in enabling the Defense Security Cooperation Agency Humanitarian Assistance Program to efficiently receive, store, maintain, and ship critical humanitarian assistance stocks to countries in need throughout the world.
“Our battalion has the best mission a logistician can ask for. We not only specialize in all three logistics functions — supply, transportation and maintenance — we also expertly support both strategic and operational missions — and not only is this support to the U.S. Army but to the Joint Forces, and our allied and partner nations,” Hills said.
The outgoing commander thanked her brigade command team for their faith and confidence in her leadership. Acknowledging the unique makeup of the battalion with a majority of civilian employees and a small percentage of military personnel, Hills thanked the workforce in both English and Italian for their dedication and hard work.
“All ‘Victory Battalion’ employees, please stand and be recognized with a round of applause for your relentless hard work,” Hills said.
With reports from U.S. Army and U.S. Army Times
