Photo By Senior Master Sgt. Daniel Heaton | Airman 1st Class Kimberly Stickley, 264th Combat Communications Squadron, Illinois Air...... read more read more
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ALPENA, Mich. -- Communications specialists from two Midwestern states are providing the critical link connecting aircraft and ground combatants in what may be the largest military exercises to be held in the Great Lakes region this year.
Air National Guard Airmen from the Wisconsin and Illinois Air National Guards are proving a new concept in aircraft control and communications during Operation Northern Strike (ONS), a major National Guard-led exercise centered on two massive military training facilities in northern Michigan.
“We are the hub in the wheel,” said Maj. Chris Divyak, site commander for the Control and Reporting Center created by the 128th Air Control Squadron (ACS) at the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center. The 128th is an element of the Wisconsin Air National Guard, one of about two dozen units participating in ONS.
A total of 24 units from 12 different states and two coalition partners will participate in ONS, an exercise that will generate more than 300 aircraft sorties in multiple missions, most of them in close coordination with ground forces. The Aug. 4-22 exercise is based at the Alpena CRTC and the Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center.
While at the Wisconsin Airmen are working in conjunction with Airmen from the 264th Combat Communications Squadron of the Illinois Air National Guard, to provide communications for the exercise. The exercise marks the first time the two units have worked directly together and is proving a new concept in meshing the technical skills of the two units. The 128th, utilizing radars, secure radio transmissions and various other tools, are providing the communications and control to link the aircraft with the ground units in the exercise, while the 264th provides internet, secure network communications and other links to the outside world, including higher-level command elements.
“This is the first time we’ve been tasked to provide this type of a set-up,” explained Tech. Sgt. Candace Pummill, a network administrator with the Illinois unit, which is based in Peoria. “We are the step between the ACS and outside world.”
The 264th recently received a modification in its mission, going from a unit that planned to operate a larger, more independent communication center to one that is geared to sending smaller elements to integrate with different units, such as is the case at ONS, explained Master Sgt. Eric McCann, the first sergeant for the 264th.
While at ONS, operators with the 128th were actively controlling aircraft from Michigan, Ohio, Canada and other locations as they were working closely with Army and Air Force ground personnel, simulating a variety of combat scenarios. Utilizing secure operation modules and radio communications trailers, 128th controllers were able to provide pilots with a full update of the battle space as they worked to provide close air support to Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTACs) and other ground-based combat personnel.
The Wisconsin unit was set up in two locations at the Alpena CRTC, on opposite sides of the air field, to simulate working in a deployed environment when the unit’s ABE – Air Battle Element – and DR – Deployed Radar – units might be located hundreds or even thousands of miles away. In all cases, all of the 128th’s communications do travel at least 44,000 miles, as the link bounces off an orbiting satellite some 22,000 miles away and then makes the round trip.
“Over the past couple of years, we’ve had a real influx of newer personnel,” said Master Sgt. Benjamin Anderson, a Battle Staff Coordinator (BSC) from Wisconsin. “For many of them, this was their first deployment, their first time riding in a convoy. Being at Northern Strike, there’s a lot of aircraft movement, a lot of units involved. It is a great training scenario for our younger Airmen who are able to really get their feet wet.”
Staff Sgt. Edwin Hunter, a Wisconsin Air National Guardsman since 2009, said the new Airmen are not only getting a taste of live training, but are also experiencing something he already knows.
“This is a unit that expects the best out of you,” he said, while working in a radio control room. “When you are around people like that, it really makes for an enjoyable environment.”
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: | 08.06.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 08.26.2014 07:05 |
| Story ID: | 140380 |
| Location: | ALPENA, MI, US |
| Web Views: | 134 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Wisconsin, Illinois Airmen partner to provide communications at Operation Northern Strike, by SMSgt Daniel Heaton, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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