U. S. Airmen from the 127th Wing, Michigan National Guard, were tested on critical skillsets during a combat readiness inspection at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Sept. 10 to 13, 2025. Exercise Bronco, a four-day combat readiness inspection, tested the 127th Wing's ability to generate, deploy, and fight from home station under pressure, ensuring the 127th Wing Airmen have the capabilities needed to dominate the future fight.
Approximately 30 Airmen from the 127th Maintenance Group, Michigan Air National Guard, broke new ground this summer when they successfully completed a combat turn on an A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft in complete darkness, using night-vision goggles. The milestone, accomplished Aug. 6, 2025, at the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, marked the first time an Air National Guard maintenance unit performed the combat operation entirely using NVGs.
“This is about pushing our capabilities forward,” 2nd Lt. Joseph DiGiovanni, a weapons officer assigned to the 127th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, said. “If we can turn an A-10 in the dark, with NVGs, it means we’re ready to keep these aircraft in the fight no matter the...
U.S. Airman Dillon Rose, a finance specialist with the 127th Comptroller Flight, Michigan Air National Guard, dons full chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear defense protective gear at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Michigan, Sept. 10, 2025. CBRN training was a component of Exercise Bronco, a four-day combat readiness inspection, that tested the 127th Wing’s ability to generate, deploy, and fight from home station under pressure, ensuring 127th Wing Airmen have the capabilities needed to dominate the future fight. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Nicole Erb)
