Pre-deployment training and best practices

The old vaudeville joke of a tourist in New York City stopping a local asking: “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” and the answer: “Practice,” can be applied to conducting pre-deployment activities. Pre-deployment activities range from administrative duties to individual and collective training laid out below.

AR 525-93 (Army Deployment and Redeployment) and ATP 3-35 (Army Deployment and Redeployment) lay out, in part, the second phase of the deployment process, a unit’s pre-deployment activities. Adherence to established guidance and directives takes the guesswork out of the process and avoids taking an ad hoc approach to deployment. A unit’s movement plan, deployment SOPs and movement binders are critical to establishing processes to ensure that the unit can prepare for deployment smoothly and efficiently. Deployment is a mission essential task, much the same as weapons training and physical fitness.

Pre-deployment activities include the all-important aspect of Soldier Readiness Processing (SRP) which must be a continuous activity that encompasses as ATP 3-35 says: “…those administrative, medical, and dental checks required to prepare a Soldier for deployment.” Our Soldiers need to be prepared to deploy all the time; waiting until a deployment order has been issued to determine if a Soldier is deployable or non-deployable is unacceptable.

The same holds true for validating load plans and Unit Deployment Lists. This should be a continual process based on unit missions. Accurate data ensures that equipment as well as personnel can be properly resourced depending on the type of lift being used for deployment (rail, air or line haul).

Deployment Readiness Exercises (DREs) are a critical training aspect which units must integrate into annual training calendars. According to AR 525-93: “The DREs may be conducted with regularly scheduled training such as sergeants’ time training, field training exercises (FTXs), or training center rotations.”

A recent FORSCOM EDRE observation noted that understanding of DRE requirements may be limited: A Division Mobility Warrant Officer was not aware of the DRE level requirements and frequencies: There are three levels of DREs:

A Level I DRE simply evaluates “…a unit’s ability to alert, assemble, and conduct Soldier readiness tasks…” This level of DRE can be conducted at any time and across the COMPOs, without even leaving the barracks area or the motor pool. As mentioned, Sergeant’s Time is a great opportunity to conduct this, or prior to conducting an FTX, even at the Platoon echelon.

A Level II DRE includes all the activities of a Level I but ramps up the activities to: “… evaluate a unit’s ability to conduct complete loadout operations and installation turn-in activities that support a limited notice deployment.” At first glance, a Level II DRE would seem appropriate for a deployment for a JRTC or NTC rotation; however, AR 525-93 does stipulate that installation turn-in can be simulated and that transportation mock-ups (airlift platforms and rail cars) can be used for packing of representative samples of deploying equipment.

A Level III DRE includes all Level II DRE activities and evaluates: “…a unit’s ability to conduct strategic movement by air or surface in support of a limited notice deployment.”

AR 525-93 requires that AFG rotational pool units execute DREs as follows:

? RESET: Minimum, one Level I DRE annually.

? Train/ready: Minimum one Level II DRE annually, paired with a validation exercise.

? Available: Minimum one Level II DRE annually and prepared to participate in a Level III based on guidance from the DCS, G-3/5/7.

? Global Response Force as well as CBRN and High Yield Explosives Response Enterprise units conduct at least one limited-notice Level II DRE annually.

Pre-deployment activities should be an integral part of training across the COMPOs. Individual and collective readiness for deployment can be achieved through adhering to established processes and practice. That readiness ensures smooth and efficient deployment that does not waste time and resources on the way to Carnegie Hall.