NORFOLK, Va – Mobilization and Deployment Support Command (MDSC) officially launched during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Naval Station Norfolk, December 1, 2023.
MDSC reflects the Navy Reserve’s rapid alignment with the concept of Adaptive Mobilization, a process intended to improve warfighter readiness by enabling the Navy to respond with speed, agility and quantity of personnel in support of large‐scale contingencies and to improve processes and procedures that will ensure effective mass mobilization capability.
“MDSC is being established to provide oversight of all Reserve Component (RC) mobilizations and Active Component (AC) Individual Augmentee (IA) mobilizations,” said Rear Admiral Michael J Steffen, Commander, Navy Reserve Forces Command. “This is a wholesale re-imagining of the legacy, centralized mobilization process and is the realization of the Reserve’s shift from operational support through a centralized center of excellence to strategic reserve via adaptive, distributed mobilizations.”
The establishment of MDSC coincides with the disestablishment of Expeditionary Combat Readiness Center (ECRC), which transferred to Navy Reserve Forces Command (CNRFC) in January 2022.
MDSC will retain the Mobilization Center of Excellence role to train, oversee and execute the Navy’s mobilization processes and continue to deploy steady-state IA Sailors across the globe, while adjusting processes and procedures to encompass the Navy’s focus on Adaptive Mobilization in support of large-scale contingencies and mass mobilization requirements.
According to Steffen, MDSC will continue to set the standard across all Distributed Activation processing sites to provide deployment ready and mission capable warfighters to effectively implement the strategic, operational and tactical objectives of the Navy.
“With the drawdown in missions supporting the Global War on Terror, the return of strategic competition and the new reality of multi‐domain warfare, MDSC’s new mission and capabilities now align to the Navy’s focus in decentralizing the mobilization processing from a singular center at MDSC to the regional REDCOMs and other strategic locations,” said Steffen. “Our Reserve Force is laser-focused on warfighting readiness and our swift transformation will further sharpen our focus on one thing, and one thing only… our ability to fight and win.”
