Photo By Senior Master Sgt. Daniel Heaton | A C-130 from the Illinois Air National Guard is refueled during Operation Northern...... read more read more
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GRAYLING, Mich. - Soldiers taking enemy fire. American aircraft circling overhead. And in the distance, the deep-throated boom of artillery.
The Michigan National Guard demonstrated the full dimensions of Operation Northern Strike (ONS) on Aug. 13, with units from more than a half-dozen different states participating in a training scenario watched by generals and local dignitaries at the Grayling Air Gunnery Range.
The demonstration, coming at the mid-way point of the 3-week ONS exercise, showcased the ability of the U.S. military to operate in a complex world, said Maj. Gen. Gregory J. Vaidnais, the Adjutant General of the Michigan National Guard.
“The world is only becoming more complex,” the general said, moments before a squad of Michigan Soldiers from the Grand Rapids-based 126th Cavalry began a ground assault on an “enemy” air base at the Grayling range.
“Exercises like this allow us to continue to function as the pre-eminent military power in the world,” he said.
During the simulated assault, in which Soldiers and Airmen used live ammunition in the training range, the Soldiers called in air strikes from Army helicopters and Air Force fighter jets, utilized artillery support and called in a “cas-evac” – casualty evacuation – to remove a Soldier who simulated a battle wound.
The exercise was run several times on Aug. 13 and has been repeated throughout ONS, allowing different Airmen and Soldiers to participate in different roles. Heavy rains on Aug. 12 didn’t stop the exercises. Rather, the rains forced the military commanders to take the weather into account as they issued their commands.
“We are working through different team leaders, different (noncommissioned officers) in different scenarios, allowing them to work through these issues and gain critical experience,” said Col. Jeffrey Terrill, commander of the 63rd Troop Command, Michigan National Guard.
With the Soldiers on the ground facing simulated enemy fire, two AH-64 Apache helicopters from the 104th Aviation Company, Pennsylvania National Guard, flew overhead, providing top cover. Time and again, the commander on the ground – radio call sign “Cowboy 6” for this exercise – called in for rockets and 30mm rounds to suppress “enemy” targets. Further away, Soldiers from the Ohio National Guard were tasked to fire 105mm high explosive rounds as a suspected surface to air missile site. After that site was destroyed by artillery, A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft from the Michigan Air National Guard and the Indiana Air National Guard made several passes, dropping live 500-pound bombs, firing rockets and chewing up an “enemy” tank with their 30mm Gatling gun.
“The task before the battlefield commander is to apply the right force, in the right order, in the right place, to allow the objective to be reached,” explained Terrill.
The friendly forces on the ground were re-supplied during the attack with materials dropped via parachute from the cargo bay of an Illinois-based C-130 Hercules. The entire process was supported by Joint Terminal Attack Controllers from Illinois, Canada and Latvia – they provide expertise on ground control of aircraft operations – and communications links supported by Air National Guard personnel from Wisconsin and Illinois.
During the course of the exercise, Airmen and Soldiers from as many as a dozen different states, plus two coalition partners – as many as 5,000 military personnel in all – are expected to participate in ONS.
About Operation Northern Strike
Centered at two of the nation's largest National Guard training facilities - Camp Grayling Joint Military Training Center and the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center - Operation Northern Strike is an annual National Guard Bureau sponsored Combined Live Fire Exercise. The exercise emphasizes the Theatre Air Control and Army Air Ground Systems (TACS/AAGS) within the Theatre Air Ground System (TAGS). It blends Maneuver, Close Air Support (CAS), Joint Fire Support, and Air Mobility in both Major Combat Operations and limited Operation Enduring Freedom scenarios.
| Date Taken: | 08.13.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 08.25.2014 15:54 |
| Story ID: | 140310 |
| Location: | MI, US |
| Web Views: | 303 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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