The brigade trained for a rotation in the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, Louisiana throughout 2000 and 2001, before deploying to the center in June 2002. The brigade received praise from the JRTC exercise commander, 7th Infantry Brigade Commander, Major General Edward Soriano, and the United States Army Chief of Staff, General Eric Shinseki, as performing the mission better than many brigades before it. The 45th Infantry Brigade's performance at the Joint Readiness Training Center laid the groundwork for securing the first national guard infantry brigade deployment to a combat zone since the Korean War.