Fort Campbell, KY – Soldiers from 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) prepare for their upcoming Sea Emergency Deployment Readiness Exercise (SEDRE) in conjunction with their rotation at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, Louisiana.
This SEDRE is not in response to any international situation or diplomatic conversation. This SEDRE is part of a U.S. army program and has been in the planning phases since March 2021.
This exercise provides the unit an opportunity to exercise the procedures associated with recalling unit members, preparing personnel and equipment for deployment, deploying, and planning and conducting a mission.
“This is the first time that the majority of our Soldiers will be executing a SEDRE, and it’s a very exciting opportunity for our Soldiers to hone in on an additional capability to win the fight,” said Sgt. 1st Class Jerome Gardner, the noncommissioned officer in charge for Forward Support Company, 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division
“It’s not very common that we utilize sea vessels, in my 18-years in the Army this is my first SEDRE too, but the units have been making it happen, there’s a lot of cohesion right now and it’s exciting to see a full scale operation like this executed,” stated Sgt. 1st Class Gardner.
The balance between readiness and health protection conditions is critical to the 101st Airborne Division’s success. They have developed and implemented safety-mitigation measures. They set conditions to expand capacity to stop the spread of the virus, while training their soldiers to fight and win in contested environments.
Phase one of the operation required Soldiers to stage the vehicles and equipment necessary for the mission at the Fort Campbell Railhead where it will then be transported to the Port of Charleston, where it will be put on the a barge, and then convoyed to JRTC, where 3rd Brigade will begin their training rotation.
“The SEDRE has forced us to adapt to win, despite the short notice and sometimes scramble for information, we’re making this happen, and we will succeed,” said 1st. Lt. Rainer Eldred, the executive officer for Forward Support Company, 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat TeamT, 101st Airborne Division. “Short notice or no notice deployment exercises definitely cause us to examine the areas that need to be strengthened in our ability to rapidly move and ship out, but it is all part of the process of building upon the lethality of the 101st.”
The objective of a SEDRE is to train units in standard deployment procedures. The SEDRE concept requires the deployment of an entire brigade’s equipment and personnel. The equipment and vehicles must be uploaded and offloaded using port facilities and ships.
Challenging training events like deployment readiness exercises is to strengthen unit cohesion, improve tactical proficiency and allow the army to develop agile, adaptive leaders of character.
