From June 27-29, 2022 the Michigan Air National Guard (ANG) will partner with Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), the Michigan Department of Transportation, and local agencies to host exercise “Northern Agility 22-1,” which prepares military aircrews for operations in austere environments under the Air Force’s Agile Combat Employment (ACE) doctrine. Northern Agility 22-1 will showcase A-10 Thunderbolt II, AFSOC MC-12W and U-28A aircraft conducting agile combat employment at... read more
From June 27-29, 2022 the Michigan Air National Guard (ANG) will partner with Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), the Michigan Department of Transportation, and local agencies to host exercise “Northern Agility 22-1,” which prepares military aircrews for operations in austere environments under the Air Force’s Agile Combat Employment (ACE) doctrine. Northern Agility 22-1 will showcase A-10 Thunderbolt II, AFSOC MC-12W and U-28A aircraft conducting agile combat employment at Sawyer International Airport and on a closed portion of M-28 east of Munising. Northern Agility 22-1 will focus on contested logistics and the ability to conduct Integrated Combat Turns (ICTs) in an austere environment.
The temporary landing zone in Alger County will occur June 28 on a closed, 9,000-foot section of four-lane highway. The landing zone, named “Hawk LZ” in honor of F-16 pilot Maj. Durwood “Hawk” Jones from the Wisconsin ANG’s 115th Fighter Wing who lost his life in a training accident in Michigan in 2020, will operate for six hours on June 28. Staging and additional training activities will precede and follow the highway landing June 27 and 29 at Sawyer International Airport.
Northern Agility 22-1 is a progressive milestone in the Air Force’s strategy to project combat power through ACE. Dynamic exercises like this demonstrate the Air Force’s ability to deploy rapidly from anywhere, any time – a critical edge the Air Force maintains over its adversaries. While military aircraft have landed on U.S. highways before, this will be the first time maintenance crews perform ICTs during highway-based operations. An ICT enables the quick rearming and refueling of a running jet to reduce the aircrew’s ground time and get them back into the air. show less
