VICENZA, Italy — U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF) conducted its reduced-force Lion deployment readiness exercise (DRE), pushing a 20-person early entry command post (EECP) through the fast-paced steps of alert, assembly and movement from Caserma Del Din, Italy, to Aviano Air Base to validate its ability to deploy on short notice, Sept 10.
This exercise sought to sharpen SETAF-AF’s ability to project a mission-ready task force within hours, reinforcing its role as the Army’s headquarters for crisis response. More specifically, it tested its headquarters’ ability to rapidly project combat power by moving personnel, vehicles and containers, then conducting a joint inspection with the U.S. Air Force to certify cargo for flight.
“This element is lean but highly capable,” said U.S. Army Maj. Timothy Dean, operations officer for Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion (HHBN), SETAF-AF.
“With subject matter experts from across the staff, the EECP gives us a scalable command-and-control node that can be expanded into a full joint task force headquarters.”
In addition to equipment checks, the HHBN’s exercise included soldier readiness process validation and coordination with movement control teams, mission support elements and Carabinieri escorts to mirror real-world conditions.
“An 18-hour timeline is super tight,” Dean said. “From the moment we get the call to being on a C-130 or C-17, every repetition builds confidence that SETAF-AF can meet the mission.”
The DRE provided junior leaders with vital exposure to meeting deployment requirements with short notice, according to U.S. Army 1st Lt. Douglas Ticson, a logistics officer assigned to HHBN, SETAF-AF, who currently serves as the battalion S-4 officer. Due to personnel changeover, a unit’s institutional knowledge to execute such an activity can degrade if it doesn’t take active steps to maintain it.
“This is huge for SETAF-AF,” Ticson said. “Younger leaders like myself get firsthand experience in what’s required to deploy our people and equipment.”
Ticson emphasized that while the EECP team may not draw the same attention as front-line combat forces, they support the Army’s warrior lethality by providing the deployment requirements that enable those forces to accomplish the “kicking in doors” missions.
“Without command and control in place, ground forces can’t maneuver effectively,” he said. “This exercise makes us better prepared to set those conditions.”
About SETAF-AF
SETAF-AF) prepares Army forces, executes crisis response, enables strategic competition and strengthens partners to achieve U.S. Army Europe and Africa and U.S. Africa Command campaign objectives.
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