Ninety-eight members of the 63rd Regional Readiness Command arrived at Joint Base Balad March 1 as replacements for the departing 70th Regional Readiness Command Soldiers, who are based out of Fort Lawton, Wash. Based out of Los Alamitos, Calif., the...

1st Lt. Denise Echols and her unit members arrive at Joint Base Balad as they prepared to get their deployment underway. Echols, a Pullman, Wash., native, and member of the 304th Sustainment Brigade, now assigned to the 63rd Regional Readiness Comman...

1st Lt. Denise Echols and her fellow unit members arrive at Joint Base Balad as they prepared to get their deployment underway. Echols, a Pullman, Wash., native, and member of the 304th Sustainment Brigade, now assigned to the 63rd Regional Readiness...

BASE BALAD, Iraq - The 3d Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) welcomed 98 Soldiers from the 63rd Regional Readiness Command to their ranks here, March 20.

The 63rd RRC, a reserve command based out of Los Alamitos, Calif., provides: combat service support to other Army units during deployments; supports troop projection by filling in for deploying active troops; provide port, rail and other transportation support; and acts as the training base during full mobilization.

The 63rd RRC personnel arrived at JBB as replacements for the departing 70th RRC, based out of Fort Lawton, Wash.

"Just as the 70th RRC has been critical to the 3d ESC's ability to synchronize and provide sustainment to MNC-I Forces, so will the 304th Sust. Bde. personnel," said Col. Jarrold M. Reeves, 3d ESC deputy command officer and an Atlanta native. "The incoming staff augmentees are key to our ability to execute our sustainment mission and plan and execute strategic reposturing in the future."

The Soldiers were welcomed at the JBB passenger terminal by key leadership from the 3d ESC to help ease the transition to their new surroundings.

"It is with great pleasure that we welcome our new teammates to the 3d ESC and I am looking forward to working with everyone as we continue to plan, coordinate, and supply the logistics to this theater of operation," said 1st Sgt. Jeffery W. Burnsworth, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3d ESC, first sergeant. "I have the utmost faith that the transition between the 70th RRC and the 63rd RRC will be seamless and logistics will continue to flow to the war fighter without a hitch."

Though new to JBB, the 63rd RRC members are eager to get started with their respective jobs.

"Overall, I'm just happy to be here and l'm looking forward to this being a very good experience for me," said Spc. Markus Hanni, a Portland, Ore., native and 63rd RRC human resource information system management specialist. "From what I've seen thus far, I like it here."