FORT BRAGG, N.C. - The 3rd Corps Sustainment Command spearheaded and recently completed the final convoy of 2025 for a major equipment divesture operation coined Red Ball Express, that saw unused and outdated materiel depart Fort Bragg, North Carolina to Robbins Air Force Base, Georgia, Camp LeJeune, North Carolina, and Tobyhanna Army Depot, Pennsylvania.
The joint effort included the 406th Army Field Support Battalion, Defense Logistics Agency – Disposition Services, Army Materiel Command, Tobyhanna Army Depot, and a collection of logistics units from Robbins Air Force Base and Camp Lejeune.
“Red Ball Express underscores Army Materiel Command’s priority of focusing on Army Structure 2032, which eliminates unnecessary steps to turn-in equipment,” said Lt. Col. Deatae Allen, Support Operations Officer, 3rd CSC. “This initiative reinforces 3rd CSC’s role as the critical enabler for the XVIII Airborne Corps, ensuring equipment accountability and readiness across our formations.”
The named operation began in June 2025, when subordinate units across Fort Bragg began identifying excess, unusable, or outdated equipment that no longer supported their wartime mission. The operation builds on the Army’s Rapid Removal of Excess program.
“Red Ball Express directly improves readiness by removing excess equipment from unit property books that consumes space, maintenance hours, manpower, and resources across unit motor pools,” said Maj. Brent Vibbert, operations officer, 330th Transportation Battalion. “Everything about this operation is helping the Soldiers on the ground.”
With the equipment identified and four separate staging areas established around Fort Bragg, leaders and Soldiers from across the 3rd CSC hosted multiple convoy rehearsals to ensure each iteration was prepared for the upcoming mission.
Soldiers from the 264th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion started convoy operations during the last week in October, delivering over 8,000 pieces of equipment totaling more than $34 million.
“This is a unique mission that gives our transportation Soldiers an opportunity to conduct an extended convoy while stationed stateside,” said Col. David Alvarez, Chief of Staff, 3rd CSC. “Typically, those opportunities only come when Soldiers are deployed forward, so it really allows them to rehearse their warfighting mission.”
Once the reception nodes receive the outdated and obsolete equipment, they redistribute the materiel and equipment to other government organizations, destroy them or, in some cases, donate the equipment to museums.
The success of the Red Ball Express sets the framework for additional divesture operations to continue for XVIII Airborne Corps units throughout 2026.
The 3rd CSC provides command and control of sustainment support for XVIII Airborne Corps, and on order, deploys to support emergent, global contingences and ongoing named operations.
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