FORT DETRICK, Md. — When the order comes, U.S. Army units have to be ready to go.
Army Medical Logistics Command did its part to answer the call during a recent emergency deployment readiness exercise, or EDRE, conducted by U.S. Army Central Command.
An EDRE is a no-notice, rapid deployment exercise to assess a unit’s ability to quickly mobilize personnel and equipment for potential real-world contingencies.
AMLC and personnel from the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Agency, one of its three direct reporting units, moved quickly to issue sets from the Army Prepositioned Stocks site in Southwest Asia, known as APS-5, in support of a deploying forward resuscitative surgical detachment to sustain EDRE medical operations from May 24 to June 30 in Kuwait.
“The AMLC staff and USAMMA personnel reacted swiftly and professionally within the first 24 hours of receiving the request to issue a FRSD from APS without any prior notification,” said Lt. Col. Ibrahim Kabbah, AMLC’s assistant chief of staff for Support Operations, or SPO.
The exercise was a true test of AMLC’s readiness as well. Kabbah said the command was not tracking the EDRE in advance and did not forecast the equipment requirement.
“This EDRE truly exercised AMLC’s capability and readiness to support the warfighter, as well as our USAMMA personnel who manages the APS at the Force Projection Directorate,” Kabbah added. “These MEDLOG professionals executed this hasty handoff without a hitch and the EDRE was able to have a FRSD to exercise during this realistic training and readiness exercise.”
Maj. Ian Dunn, chief of future operations for USAMMA, took it one step further, noting that the agency was simultaneously supporting other ongoing operations when the notice came down.
“During this timeframe, we had DEFENDER 25 Europe retrograde and issue operations, as well as an APS-3 vessel download occurring,” he said. “We had to rapidly reprioritize support and synchronize efforts across an additional COCOM. We were able to prove that USAMMA is able to rapidly issue its materiel at a moment’s notice, projecting readiness and capabilities to our Soldiers and units.”
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