Northern Strike 23-1 set for Northern Michigan Winter

Photo By Maj. Joe Legros | Charlie Battery, 120th Field Artillery Regiment, 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Wisconsin National Guard, conducted a fires mission at Camp Grayling, Mich. Jan. 24. 2022. The event took place during Northern Strike 22-1 (”Winter Strike”), a National Guard Bureau-sponsored exercise held Jan. 21-30 with participants from several U.S. states and partner forces at Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center and Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, Michigan, which together comprise the National All-Domain Warfighting Center (NADWC) (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Capt. Joe Legros)  

CAMP GRAYLING, MI, UNITED STATES

01.10.2023

Story by Staff Sgt. Tristan Viglianco 

Michigan National Guard

Northern Strike (NS) 23-1, this years’ winter exercise hosted by the Michigan National Guard, is scheduled to take place across Northern Michigan’s National All-Domain Warfighting Center (NADWC), Jan. 20-29, 2023. NS 23-1 is part of the semi-annual exercise series, which includes NS 23-2, scheduled for this August.

“For a decade, Northern Strike has helped our nation’s reserve component forces build readiness as a lethal fighting force,'' said Lt. Col. John Keelean, director of exercises and training. “This marks the 4th cold-weather iteration of this event and as our national defense strategy changes, so does the exercise.”

NS is an Army National Guard-sponsored exercise that is a tailorable, scalable, and cost-effective readiness producer. Approximately [600] participants will brave the near-arctic conditions, while training to meet objectives of the Department of Defense’s arctic strategy.

“Wind, snow, and single digit temperatures force units to adapt and overcome conditions they could potentially face against a near-peer threat,” said Maj. Gen. Paul D. Rogers, adjutant general and director of the Michigan Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. “In years past, temperatures at Camp Grayling have actually been colder than Alaska, so this exercise serves as one of the best opportunities for units to train in some of the most challenging conditions they could ever face.”

The NADWC, which includes Camp Grayling and Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, offers a cost-effective way for units across the DoD (particularly reserve components) to experience cold-weather, joint all-domain operations. The ability to easily transport people and equipment to Camp Grayling via rail and roadway helps units save time, money and training days. Air component units can fly to Alpena CRTC without leaving U.S. air space.

Participating units will include the 120th Field Artillery Regiment Wisconsin National Guard; the 1432nd Engineer Company, Michigan National Guard; and Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 115, Marine Corps Air Station Buford, South Carolina; among others.

A new factor in this year’s exercise is the cold-weather equipment pool offered at Camp Grayling. Visiting units will be able to draw from items such as skis, snowmobiles, and snowshoes to meet their training objectives.

“By offering the cold-weather equipment our Camp Grayling partners have made the exercise even more tailorable,” Command Sgt. Maj. Kevin Palmatier, Northern Strike senior enlisted advisor. “Having equipment pre-positioned here reduces logistical concerns for units so they can focus on their warfighting tasks. Our goal is to provide rotational training units with the tools to become more effective warfighters, ready to meet the ever-evolving demands of today’s security environment.”

For more information, please contact the Michigan National Guard Public Affairs office at [e-mail]

For additional Northern Strike 23-1 content please visit: https://www.dvidshub.net/feature/NorthernStrike231

• Date Taken: 01.10.2023
• Date Posted: 01.10.2023 09:06
• Story ID: 436502
• Location: CAMP GRAYLING, MI, US