Subscribe
U.S. Army story by Spc. Kelvin Johnson Jr., 40th Public Affairs Detachment
Soldiers compete in Emergency Deployment Readiness Exercise
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky.-- Nineteen Soldiers assigned to 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), executed Eagle Savage Strike 5, the 5th iteration of the division Emergency Deployment Readiness Exercise Oct. 12, 2021 at Fort Campbell, Ky.
An EDRE is an exercise to test a unit’s readiness to be deployed on short notice. What made this 5th iteration so unique was the level of competition added into the exercise.
“This EDRE is to test the core confidence of the Weapons Squad Leader, the subject matter experts in the infantry battalions for the M240 machine guns,” said Maj. Alex Boedecker, Geospatial Intelligence Imagery Officer, with the division G35 office, here.
Soldiers came from 1st and 2nd Brigade to compete in this exercise and see which squad leaders performed best.
“This exercise is important because it allows the Commanding General and leaders across the division to see how their Weapons Squad Leaders are performing against other Weapons Squad Leaders within the division,” said Boedecker. “This allows them to see their strengths and weaknesses to better themselves.”
Leaders were assessed on their ability to properly fill out a range card, physical fitness, written exam on machine gun and day and night shooting qualifications.
“The range card is to understand the principal direction and range of fire, know the primary and secondary sections of fire and how to properly fill the card out,” said Sgt. 1st Class William Melko, Training and Operations Senior Non Commissioned Officer, with Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, here. “So when the relieving soldier is on duty they should automatically know their sections of fire without being briefed.”
After the range card portion the soldiers began their timed physical assessment.
“We just finished up a 7 mile ruck with our equipment,” said Staff Sgt. Casey Brewer, Weapons Squad Leader, with Viper Company, 1st Battalion 26th Infantry Regiment, here. “Now we are about to do our daytime qualification followed by an exam, night qualifications and a night ruck to an unknown destination.”
| Date Taken: | 10.14.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 10.27.2021 13:10 |
| Story ID: | 408113 |
| Location: | FT. CAMPBELL, TENNESSEE, US |
| Web Views: | 53 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Eagle Savage Strike, by SGT Kelvin Johnson, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
