Camp Grayling Opens State-Of-The-Art Light Demo Range

Photo By Capt. Cammy Alberts | Soldiers from the 4th Platoon, 1431 Engineering Company (Sapper) Battalion out of Calumet, Michigan, conduct explosive urban entry training with a silhouette charge from behind a breacher blanket at Range 21, the new light demolition range located at Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center during Exercise Northern Strike on August 13, 2016. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by 2nd Lt. Cammy Alberts/Released)  

MI, UNITED STATES

08.12.2016

Story by 2nd Lt. Cammy Alberts 

Michigan National Guard

Until recently, however, Camp Grayling didn’t have enough light demolition ranges that met the Army’s new standards to accommodate training for the approximate 7,200 soldiers in Michigan.
A new multipurpose light demolition range, known as Range 21, changes that.
The sprawling facility, which features ballistic glass in the observation bunker, opened in August.
“The opening of Range 21 expands training capacity on the installation,” said Master Sgt. Marshall Sly, the non-commissioned officer in charge of the Department of Plans, Training, Mobilization, and Security on Camp Grayling. “Not only can we now qualify all of our Michigan troops, but we’re able to offer Range 21 to other states and partner nations.”
With the addition of the new light demolition range, CGJMTC can now host units from all over the region, and meet the demo training requirements in a joint training environment.
“It’s a wonderful training opportunity for our Michigan Guardsmen,” said Sly. “We’re able to collaborate with other entities to work together, to train and communicate effectively in a real-world joint environment.”
The original seven-year budget plan projected a $1.4 million project cost with two years of construction. With the expertise of local Army facility engineers, however, the budget was nearly cut in half. After two years of planning, the facility was built in 8 months at the cost of $750,000.
Troops had their first opportunity to utilize Range 21 for its joint training capabilities during Northern Strike 2016. Exercise Northern Strike is a National Guard Bureau-sponsored exercise uniting approximately 5,000 Army, Air Force, Marine, and Special Forces service members from 20 states and three coalition countries during the first three weeks of August 2016 at the Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center and the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, both located in northern Michigan. The exercise strives to provide accessible, readiness-building opportunities for military units from all service branches to achieve and sustain proficiency in conducting mission command, air, sea, and ground maneuver integration, and the synchronization of fires in a joint, multinational, decisive action environment.

• Date Taken: 08.12.2016
• Date Posted: 08.13.2016 17:45
• Story ID: 207041
• Location: MI, US