Photo By Capt. Andrew Layton | Col. J.R. Alexander, 110th Operations Group commander, shows Col. Armands Saltups, Air...... read more read more
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BATTLE CREEK, Mich. - Col. Armands Saltups, Air Force commander for the National Armed Forces of Latvia, paid a special visit to Battle Creek Air National Guard Base, Mich., Aug. 14, 2018. Saltups was in Michigan for exercise Northern Strike 18, the U.S.’s largest annual, joint reserve component exercise, which takes place primarily at Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center and Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, Mich.
He was joined on the visit by Maj. Kaspars Skudrovs, airfield manager for Lielvarde Air Base, Latvia, a hub of North American Treaty Organization (NATO) operations in the Baltic region.
Arriving from Alpena on a UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter, Saltups toured base facilities in Battle Creek, including a portion of the state-of-the-art command and control (C2) center which falls under the 217th Air Operations Group. The 217 AOG specializes in air integration and the development of complex air tasking orders, primarily for the 603rd Air Operations Center, Ramstein AB, Germany, U.S. European Command (US EUCOM), and U.S. African Command (US AFRICOM). This month, 217 AOG has been heavily involved with Northern Strike, supporting creation of air tasking orders for the exercise remotely.
Col. Don Henry, commander of the 217th Combat Operations Squadron, said that while the 217 AOG is no stranger to collaboration with Latvian counterparts, Battle Creek airmen are excited to achieve more alongside their Baltic partners.
"The 217th has a long history of working with the Latvians," said Henry. "We're excited about the possibilities to work with them further on airfield management, continued work on airspace, and their command and control capabilities."
The Latvian delegation was also briefed on Battle Creek’s robust cyber defense capability, and spent time at the 110th Operations Group facility, which supports MQ-9 remotely-piloted aircraft operations. Saltups was even able to spend a few moments at the controls of the unit’s unclassified MQ-9 training simulator, which brought a grin to his face.
Skudrovs said that the 217 AOG portion of the visit especially helped him visualize the role of an air operations center in the execution of tactical air operations.
"Today's visit showed something about what the airfield, which is part of the mission, works for," he said. "Missions are planned at levels above us, and are and executed in air operations centers. This gave us a wider view of operations."
The Michigan National Guard has enjoyed a rich bond with the National Armed Forces of Latvia for 25 years under the U.S. National Guard Bureau’s State Partnership Program (SPP), which links the armed forces of various nations with counterparts from U.S. National Guard organizations to create mutually-beneficial, long-term defense collaborations.
“Together with our Latvian partners, we've built very solid programs in areas like firefighting, medical, airfield management, and air traffic control," said Col. John Miner, commander, Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, Mich., who has developed a strong working relationship with Saltups over the past year. “The purpose of this visit is that we’re trying to take our state partnership with Latvia to the next level."
A major facet of the Michigan-Latvia partnership is combined participation in exercise Northern Strike, This year, approximately 60 Latvian military personnel are participating in the exercise.
"It's very important to see how we can work better together in air operations and command and control," said Saltups. "Today was a great opportunity to discuss our cooperation and the building of security in the Baltic region."
Northern Strike 18 is a National Guard Bureau-sponsored exercise uniting service members from many states, multiple service branches and a number of coalition countries during the first three weeks of August 2018 at the Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center and the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, both located in northern Michigan and operated by the Michigan National Guard. The accredited Joint National Training Capabilities exercise 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: | 08.14.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 08.14.2018 17:25 |
| Story ID: | 288753 |
| Location: | BATTLE CREEK, MI, US |
| Web Views: | 323 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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