In 2017, NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence saw four new deployments, bringing multinational battlegroups into Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland as a response to changing security environments along NATO’s eastern border.
This story follows three crew members of an ASCOD Pizarro armoured vehicle and their day-to-day life. The film crew embedded with the Brigade “Extremadura XI” from the pre-deployment training until their multinational training in Latvia. Here they share with us both military and more person moments.

As part of NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence in Latvia, Spain has deployed a heavy armoured unit abroad for the first time. Around 300 troops, 250 of which are from the Mechanised Infantry Brigade “Extremadura XI”, supported by Leopard tanks and Pizarro armoured vehicles, were stationed in eastern Europe for six months. They constituted the second biggest contingent of the Latvian-based battlegroup led by Canada. The battlegroup has also been supported by troops from Albania, the Czech Republic, Italy, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.

The ASCOD (Austrian Spanish Cooperation Development) armoured fighting vehicle family is the product of a cooperation agreement between Austrian Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG (in 1998 the production of heavy armed vehicles was sold out under the name Steyr-Daimler-Puch Spezialfahrzeug, which is now the producer) and Spanish General Dynamics Santa Bárbara Sistemas (both companies are now divisions of a unit of General Dynamics). In Spanish service, the vehicle is called Pizarro, while the Austrian version is called Ulan. The ASCOD family includes the LT 105, a light tank equipped with a 105 mm gun, a SAM launcher, an anti-tank missile launcher, mortar carrier, R&R vehicle, Command & Control vehicle, ambulance, artillery observer, and the AIFV model.

Sierra Army Depot (SIAD) is a United States Army post and military equipment storage facility located near the unincorporated community of Herlong, California. It was built in 1942 as one of several ammunition storage facilities located far enough inland to be safe from Japanese attack. The site also met the requirement that the depot be in a dry and isolated area. Sierra Army Depot was established in 1942 as an ordnance and general supply storage depot. Over the years, SIAD has adapted to changing conditions by becoming home of operational project systems. Today, SIAD offers a range of unique logistics, sustainment and maintenance capabilities.

Designated as a Center for Industrial and Technical Excellence (CITE) for all Petroleum and Water Systems, and Operational Project Stocks, Sierra Army Depot (SIAD) provides a unique readiness platform to the Total Army and Joint Force. SIAD performs a wide variety of long-term logistics and sustainment missions, ranging from equipment receipt and asset visibility to long-term care, storage and sustainment, to repair/reset of all Army fuel and water systems. The Depot is a subordinate of US Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM) and offers an enterprise-wide competitive solution to logistics challenges and fills a critical void in materiel and equipment management nearing the end of its first life. These unique operations provide a readiness and operational value to the Department of Defense through management and controlled redistribution of this equipment.

SIAD is highly experienced with equipment reset, new assembly/kitting operations, training operations, maintaining operational project stocks, and a redistribution mission for Class VII and Class IX items. It has established an End-of-First Life Center for combat and non-combat vehicles. SIAD supports similar functions for Organizational Clothing and Individual Equipment (OCIE) and Central Management Office (CMO) to receive, identify, classify, receipt/record clothing for multiple agencies such as the Program Execution Office, the CMO, the Defense Logistics Agency, and the US Air Force. The Depot can process “excess” OCIE from these agencies and various Clothing Issue Facilities (CIFs) as well as returned items from Southwest Asia, including posts, camps and stations. These capabilities have enabled the Depot to become a consolidation and distribution center for the CMO, supporting brigade level OCIE reset operations and the US Army Reserve CIF. The Depot also repairs defective ESAPI plates at a considerable cost savings to the Army.

With more than 1,000 structures from igloos to warehouses and maintenance buildings, SIAD produces world-class results in every mission.
Containerization and Assembly: The Depot’s kitting and assembly capability includes prototyping configuring, inspection and assessment of returns, replacements, preservation and packaging, equipment testing, containerization and shipment.
Container Rotator: The rotator is used as an efficient way to rotate ISO, TRICON and MILVAN shipping containers, reducing the total handling time from several hours to 20 minutes, and reducing manpower needs for container logistics support.
End-Of-First Life Center: SIAD’s combat vehicle End-of-First Life Center includes equipment consolidation surveillance and inspection, prepositioned stock, care of supplies in storage, asset and inventory management, regeneration programs for both end items and subcomponents, upgrades and redistribution, configuration management, kitting and system assembly/disassembly.
Maintenance: SIAD’s maintenance personnel are able to facilitate mechanical repairs, corrosion control, metal fabrication and repairs.
Retrograde, Reutilization and Redistribution: The largest organization at SIAD, the reclamation and redistribution facilities receive retrograde materials from southwest Asia, Europe and posts, camps and stations across the US.
Transportation: SIAD is recognized for its transportation capabilities because of its airfield, its joint air operations training and the improved logistical support to the Warfighter.