FORT BRAGG, N.C. – Nearly 200 Soldiers from the 3rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command, XVIII Airborne Corps, returned home to Fort Bragg in September, after completing a nine-month deployment to U.S. Central Command in support of Operation Spartan Shield and Operation Inherent Resolve.
Families, friends and community members gathered at Pope Army Airfield in the early morning hours to welcome home their loved ones during the organization’s uncasing ceremony. Soldiers were greeted on the tarmac by senior leaders from XVIII Airborne Corps as they stepped off the aircraft and set foot back on American soil. Loved ones waited with signs, cheers and open arms, eager to reunite after months apart.
While deployed, the 3rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command served as the Operational Command Post for the 1st Theater Sustainment Command, executing distributed sustainment mission command of tactical and operational logistics supporting more than 35,000 service members across 21 countries. The unit directly supported counterterrorism operations in Syria and Iraq while enhancing security cooperation missions with regional partners across the Arabian Peninsula.
The command provided materiel and commodity management for U.S. Army Central Command – divesting millions of dollars of excess equipment while recalibrating the theater sustainment force posture to meet Air Defense Artillery surge requirements for Patriot and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) batteries in response to the Israel-Iran conflict during the 12-Day War.
The 3rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command re-established theater distribution networks into the Levant and Sinai, increasing materiel velocity and introducing multimodal transportation solutions for Multinational Force Observers and Israeli counterparts. Working with the U.S. Central Command Deployment Distribution Operations Center, the command redefined theater opening and distribution air and ground channels for the Western Access Network.
As part of the Department of War’s Regional Sustainment Framework, leaders across the command partnered with regional allies to establish Forward Repair Activities and the Defense Industrial Base Complex capability in the region. The command also spearheaded the U.S. Army Central (ARCENT) Innovation Manufacturing Center, which supported battle-damage repair and fabrication of parts for Patriot and THAAD missile systems.
“CSM John S. Jerkins and I remain extremely proud of the accomplishments of this command while deployed to combat,” said Brig. Gen. Peter L. Gilbert, commanding general of the 3rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command. “As we rejoin XVIII Airborne Corps, we remain a data-informed warfighting headquarters ready to respond to emerging global contingencies and crisis.”
The redeployment concluded with Brig. Gen. Gilbert and Command Sgt. Maj. Jerkins uncasing the unit’s colors, symbolizing the 3rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command’s official return home. Following the ceremony, Soldiers embraced their families, marking the end of a successful mission and the beginning of long-awaited reunions.
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