173rd Airborne conducts rapid deployment exercise in Slovenia

By Maj. Michael J Weisman (USAREUR)December 5, 2014

Ammunition issue
1 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Paratroopers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade, issue ammunition Dec. 1, 2014, at Aviano Airbase, Italy, in preparation for a rapid-deployment exercise into Slovenia. Approximately 150 paratroopers from the brigade's Company C, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Inf... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
MACO Brief
2 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Chaplain (Capt.) Charles Shields, a paratrooper assigned to 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade, delivers a Marshalling Area Control Officer brief, Dec. 1, 2014, at Aviano Airbase, Italy, during a rapid-deployment exercise.... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Sustained Airborne Training
3 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Staff Sgt. Cameron Motley, a jumpmaster with 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade, gives safety instructions to paratroopers Dec. 1, 2014, while preparing for a rapid-deployment deployment exercise at Aviano Airbase, Italy. ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Parachutes in the night
4 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Paratroopers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade parachute into Pocek, Slovenia, Dec. 1, 2014, to seize an airfield during a rapid-deployment exercise. Approximately 150 paratroopers from the brigade's Company C, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, c... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

VICENZA, Italy (Dec. 4, 2014) -- Approximately 150 paratroopers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade's 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment conducted a night airborne operation into Pocek, Slovenia, Monday, as part of a brigade Emergency Deployment Readiness Exercise.

The exercise tests the paratroopers' ability to plan and execute full-spectrum operations on short notice, as the U.S. Army Contingency Response Force, or ACRF, in Europe. As such, the brigade provides ready troops to deploy within 18 hours anywhere in the U.S. European, Africa or Central Command areas of responsibility.

Paratroopers were alerted early Dec. 1, for the mission, requiring leaders to efficiently prioritize time and requirements.

"Eighteen hours goes by very quickly," said 1st Lt. Dustin Lawrence, the company's executive officer. "Despite all the preparation for assuming ACRF in the weeks leading up, we still had to move quickly and deliberately to make the deployment time."

For this exercise, the unit marshaled here before moving to Aviano, where they conducted final preparations, rigged parachutes and equipment and boarded U.S. Air Force C130 aircraft from the 86th Air Wing, for the hour flight to Slovenia. Once over the drop zone, the paratroopers jumped in to seize the airfield from an opposing force and hold it as a base to bring in follow-on forces.

"No matter how much you plan, nothing can truly prepare you for an exercise like this, except doing it," said 1st Lt. John Hernandez, a platoon leader in "Chosen" Company, the executing unit, in describing going from garrison to seizing an airfield in 18 hours. "For many Soldiers, this was an eye-opening experience. They landed hearing the sound of the enemy. EDRE's (Emergency Deployment Readiness Exercises) like this prepare us for the ACRF mission, because they expose us to many of the experiences we may encounter them in a real-world scenario."

Prior to the notification, paratroopers from 2nd Battalion, were already making preparations for a separate exercise in Slovenia. The addition of the EDRE onto the exercise added to the overall effect of the training.

"Our unit has conducted several training exercise with the Slovenians this year," said Capt. Hugo Manzo, an operations officer assigned to 2nd Battalion. "Chosen Company conducting an airborne infiltration onto a Slovenian airfield tested our ability to project combat power anywhere in the world, on no-notice alert."

Manzo explained that the EDRE continued to develop the relationship between 2nd Battalion, and the Slovenian Army's 1st Brigade.

"These exercises improve our relationships with the Slovenian military professionally, by developing leaders on both sides and capturing lessons learned during partnership training," said Manzo. "These training events are a powerful instrument for professional development, and leader education."

In October, the brigade conducted the first in the series of EDREs, alerting and deploying within 24 hours the Grafenwoehr, Germany-based 1st Squadron, 91st Cavalry Regiment, for an airborne operation into Romania, followed by several days of long-range patrolling alongside allied troops.

"Technically speaking, there's no difference in the concept of why we're doing the EDRE," said Sgt. Maj. Craig Jeffrey, the brigade's operations non-commissioned officer in charge. "A different battalion is assuming [primary ACRF duties], and it's important to get them started on the right foot, focusing them toward what the commander expects in an 18-hour sequence."

Jeffrey explained that conducting EDREs is important for training at all levels of the brigade.

"The brigade staff has had a large turnover of officers and non-commissioned officers, including myself," said Jeffrey. "Just learning the tactical operations center layout and what individual staff members have to stay on top of during the 18-hour sequence were things that we came away with as lessons learned."

The brigade recently returned from its six-month deployment to Poland and the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The "Sky Soldiers" of the 173rd transferred responsibility for that portion of the Atlantic Resolve mission to Soldiers from the U.S. Army's 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division.

Chosen Company deployed twice to Operation Atlantic Resolve, including the initial short-notice notification to deploy to Estonia, in April. When that alert came, the company was finalizing its preparations for a battalion exercise in Slovenia.

"In April, Chosen Company deployed to Estonia with six-day's notice," recalled Lawrence. "Chosen Paratroopers came into work prepared for Slovenia and instead were told to prepare for a deployment to the Baltic States. The Company hit its timelines then, just as they did during the EDRE."

Lawrence said the unit came away with invaluable experience from the exercise.

"Experiencing the rush to get out the door helps us to understand how much time we have to develop a plan once notified," said Lawrence. "While we knew how little time we would have, experiencing the compressed timeline forces leaders to develop internal mechanisms to cope with time constraints."

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