U.S. Army North, Joint Task Force Civil Support, Task Force-76, Task Force-46 and civilian personnel executed a series of military aircraft movements and emergency deployment readiness exercises this week at the Columbus Municipal and Indianapolis International airports.

Vigilant to the rise of natural disasters in recent years, U.S. Army North and its partners took the opportunity during Vibrant Response 2023 to showcase the potential impact EDRE training can have on the level of readiness of National Guard and reserve units across the country to deploy at a moment’s notice.

“This impacts our readiness by forcing us to do it,” said U.S. Army Sgt. Maj. James Ivey, operations sergeant major of TF-46 for the exercise. “There’s nothing like actually going out and doing it, and replicating it as close to reality as we possibly can.”

Vibrant Response is a key exercise annually conducted to prepare a command-and-control headquarters’ capability to respond in support of simulated chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive events. Level III EDRE training enables units to rehearse and refine their ability to rapidly mobilize if a natural disaster strikes within the homeland.

“This is truly where you test the capabilities of those units in the process,” said U.S. Army Maj. Troy Catterton, the exercise logistics planner for U.S. Army North’s Army Reserve Engagement Cell. “And that’s what you want. This is the time to identify what works, what doesn’t, and reestablish a way forward with integrating it.”

The military air flights and EDRE training conducted this week allowed TF-46 and TF-76 the opportunity to streamline their mobilization processes, which can increase their overall capability to save lives in the event of a disaster.

Readiness is an essential component woven into the core of the world’s most lethal fighting force, and this week’s realistic training simulation communicates a promising future for raising that standard moving forward.

“The more diverse training we get, the better off we’re going to be,” said Ivey. “And the more ready we’re going to be to respond on America’s worst day.”