Photo By Tech. Sgt. Jason Boyd | Joint Terminal Attack Controller Technical Sgt. Dan Nicholson, 148th Air...... read more read more
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As part of the National Guard's State Partnership Program, Pennsylvania has partnered with the country of Lithuania since 1993. Through this international affairs program, the Pennsylvania National Guard has an opportunity to host Lithuanian personnel and to participate with other NATO countries. This includes supporting the International Security Forces in Afghanistan.
This year’s training provided the additional benefit of allowing the Lithuanians to train with U.S. Marines, as well as American soldiers, said a senior master sergeant with the Lithuanian Special Operations Force.
“The Marine are basically their own entity, whereas they control everything from within, such as aircraft and artillery. It’s nice to be able to communicate with them and get a feel for the inner workings of their organization,” said the Lithuanian airman, whose name is withheld for security reasons.
Coming to Northern Strike has also been beneficial for more than just bringing together the Lithuanians and their American counterparts. It also helps them get the amount of required training necessary to remain a JTAC.
“There are 12 to 14 different controls that you have to complete about every six months.” Said Tech.Sgt. Dan Nicholson, Joint Terminal Attack Controller, 148th Air Support Operations Squadron, Pennsylvania National Guard. “Northern Strike allows us to work together and meet the necessary requirements to get our controls and certifications.”
Working with different units and different nations helps to broaden the knowledge base of all the participants.
“We try to train with as many different countries as we possibly can,” said the Lithuanian airman. “It allows each country to gain more knowledge about the different weapons platforms, pilots, aircraft, and even accents, which is a great asset to everyone involved.
“One of the biggest benefits is the expertise that we are able to gain from one another each time we get together. We are always learning something new and we try to pass all of this knowledge on when we can.
“We all work together and coming to the United States makes it easier to get a lot of the necessary training we need,” said the senior master sergeant. “But one of the best things about coming here is that while we are here to train we also make new friends and that is important as well.”
Northern Strike 16 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: | 08.18.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 08.23.2016 14:29 |
| Story ID: | 207963 |
| Location: | MI, US |
| Web Views: | 138 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, STATE PARTNERSHIPS STRENGTHEN IN MICHIGAN, by TSgt Jason Boyd, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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