101st Airborne will move heavy equipment on post in deployment readiness exercise

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. – In response to orders from the Pentagon to be ready for possible deployment to Ukraine, soldiers in the 101st Airborne Division are participating in a short-notice deployment readiness exercise this week.

Soldiers and units are conducting personal equipment checks, loading baggage and unit equipment, conducting medical readiness checks, and preparing vehicles for transport, according to a news release from the 101st Airborne.

There may be road closures and heavy military vehicle traffic on post later this week as units move equipment to the airfield.

“We’re alerting the Fort Campbell community of the upcoming road closures to reduce inconvenience in travel time and to remind motorists to use extra caution when driving near military vehicles,” said Lt. Col. Kari McEwen, 101st public affairs officer. “Road closures and military vehicle traffic related to the exercise will not impact any communities located outside of Fort Campbell.”

Last week, amid tensions between the U.S. and Russia over Ukraine, the Pentagon announced that elements of the 101st Airborne have been directed to increase their readiness to deploy.

Today, it was announced that about 2,000 troops have been ordered from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to Poland and Germany, and that roughly 1,000 Germany-based soldiers will be shifted to Romania, according to the Associated Press.

“The decision to place elements of the 101st Airborne Division on heightened readiness to deploy is not a deployment order. But it is an indication to the command that we must ensure our soldiers and families are prepared if we do receive a deployment order,” McEwen said. “Deployment readiness exercises like this one ensure the highest standards of unit and soldier readiness.”

In August 2021, 3rd Brigade Combat Team conducted a Sea Emergency Deployment Exercise as part of their deployment to Fort Polk, Louisiana, for their Joint Readiness Training Center rotation.

The 101st conducted three deployment emergency readiness exercises in May and June 2021. In November, the division deployed 13,000 soldiers to locations in the Fort Campbell training area, Camp Atterbury, Indiana, and Fort Knox, Kentucky, to exercise the division’s ability to deploy in support of large scale combat operations.