Northern Strike 25-2, one of the Department of Defense’s largest reserve component readiness exercises, is set to take place across Michigan Aug. 2-16.
According to a community announcement, more than 7,500 participants from 36 states, territories and nine international partners will converge at Michigan’s National All-Domain Warfighting Center for training.
This year’s summer exercise will incorporate training scenarios involving homeland security and defense against unmanned aerial systems, including more than 30 fixed-wing aircraft offering force protection, support and refueling operations. The En-Route Patient Staging System will prepare injured patients for transport to a safe location through aeromedical evacuation, all while specially trained medics provide medical care.
Additionally, maritime training scenarios will focus on protecting high-value assets, conducting freedom of navigation operations, integrating unmanned undersea vehicles, as well as fixing, tracking and engaging targets within littoral and open water environments. The Joint Personnel Recovery Agency will integrate with training units to test newly developed combat search, rescue and recovery systems during the exercise.
The National All-Domain Warfighting Center encompasses the Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center, the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center and their associated airspace. Participants will also conduct training in Lake Huron, Rogers City Quarry, Battle Creek, Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Oscoda-Wurtsmith Airfield and K.I. Sawyer Airfield in Marquette.
“This year’s schedule of NS training events reflects the unique capabilities of Michigan and the NADWC to support Department of Defense objectives,” said U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Paul D. Rogers, adjutant general and director of the Michigan Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. “We take pride in continuously improving exercise design by integrating innovative technologies, including the testing and evaluation of counter-UAS systems, into dynamic, multi-domain training that meets the evolving needs of commanders across the force.”
The Michigan National Guard began hosting Northern Strike in 2012, and it has since grown into a joint, multi-national exercise program. The exercise provides participating units with a chance to conduct robust and relevant scenario-based, full-spectrum readiness training and complete mission essential tasks.
“Northern Strike is unique, not only because of its integration of defense innovators and academia, but because it fully reflects the realities service members are facing on today’s modern battlefield,” said Col. Todd Fitzpatrick, land exercise director for Northern Strike. “This year’s exercise features full-scale integration with foreign participants to build ally and partner interoperability and is designed to enhance readiness across all domains of warfare with both joint and partner forces. Recent global events have shown just how devastating cruise missiles and small UAS can be to both military and civilian infrastructure. Detection, identification, interception and destruction of these threats are no-fail missions and Northern Strike provides the operational environment to rigorously train for them.”
In addition to enhancing the nation’s defense capabilities, the exercise series also serves as an important boost to the local economy. It brings an average of $38 million to Michigan’s economy annually in military pay, travel and local spending in northern lower Michigan.
The public should note there will be increased traffic on Michigan roads Aug. 2-16 as personnel travel to and from Grayling. There will also be a variety of aircraft taking part in the exercise, with aircraft visible to the naked eye throughout Michigan’s lower peninsula.
For more information, contact the Michigan National Guard Public Affairs office at 517-730-5776.
This story was created by Janis Reeser, [email protected], with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more at https://cm.usatoday.com/ethical-conduct.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Northern Strike to bring global forces to Michigan for warfighting drills
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