Photo By Sgt. Jason Boyd | A Joint Terminal Attack Controller clears a building after assaulting the final...... read more read more
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ROGERS CITY, MICH. – As the day begins, a group of airman with the 182nd Airlift Wing, Peoria, Illinois, prepare for a long day in the field. They check their weapons, ensuring they have enough ammunition, smoke grenades, and simulated land mines. They go over locations in the field for the day’s training sequence.
These airmen are going to spend the day in the woods of Rogers City, Michigan at the Calcite Quarry acting as hostile operational forces (OPFOR). Their mission is to prepare ambushes and to attack a group of Joint Terminal Attack Controllers, trying to prevent them from reaching the final objective. This simulated real-world training is a vital part of the JTAC’s mission. This training helps them get the experience they need to either recertify, or become certified as JTACs.
“Without OPFOR out here, nothing would be cohesive. It would just be some guys walking through the woods with no real recognition of hostility,” said Tech. Sgt. Richard Boyer, JTAC instructor and lead planner. “The OPFOR give them the ability to hear and see things they might see downrange. They know they have to put their game face on at that point.”
Northern Strike is a training exercise that has become a yearly event in northern Michigan, bringing together forces from all over the United States – and the world – to include, Latvia, Poland, the United Kingdom, Lithuania, Canada and Denmark for this year’s exercise. All of the work that goes on behind the scenes at Northern Strike does seem to go unnoticed at times. But for those who are part of the set-up, coordination, and execution of the scenarios, the knowledge that they are a crucial part of the big pig picture is enough. Seeing the culmination of all of their hard work is simply an added bonus.
“Being able to actually get controls in a live environment that has aircraft and terrain very similar to Afghanistan is important,” said Boyer. “You have the team working together, so we almost want them to make mistakes here because this is where they learn so when actual live ordinance is being dropped they can bring their A-game.”
Every training exercise begins with planning – and with Northern Strike that is no exception. The exercise, which began Aug. 1, 2017, has been in the planning stages since the beginning of last year. Some of the coordination begins up to five years in advance.
Making sure that everything runs smoothly in an operation like this is a difficult task. Coordinating with the multitude of aircraft involved, JTACs, and OPFOR can prove challenging at times.
“The most difficult thing is the execution piece,” said Boyer. “Because there are so many moving pieces and such a large area in order to finalize the JTACs plan, coordinate with aircraft on station and the OPFOR on the ground, making sure they are all in the right locations takes a lot of coordination and planning.”
The sequences for this exercise can be tailored to fit into the requirements each JTAC needs to get the controls required for certification. By making each of them unique, it helps JTACs get a look at many different scenarios, and it forces them to make changes to their plans, thus simulating real world tactical situations because the enemy doesn’t always stick to the playbook.
“It’s nice to see the plan come together, but it’s also nice to see that the JTACS are getting quality training,” said Boyer. “As a JTAC instructor it’s nice to see that all of the effort that’s goes into the planning and behind the scenes pays off when they get to show off their skill set in an environment such as Northern Strike.”
Northern Strike ‘17 is a National Guard Bureau-sponsored exercise uniting approximately 5,000 service members from 13 states and five coalition countries during the first two weeks of August 2017 at the Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center and Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, both located in northern Michigan and operated by the Michigan National Guard The newly-accredited NS 17 demonstrates the Michigan National Guard’s ability 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, together with the synchronization of fires in a joint, multinational, decisive action environment.
| Date Taken: | 08.01.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 08.02.2017 16:02 |
| Story ID: | 243464 |
| Location: | MI, US |
| Web Views: | 97 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Behind the Scenes: Northern Strike '17, by TSgt Jason Boyd, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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