DVIDS – News – Michigan ANG, Joint Partners and Allies Pass ACE Milestone at Northern Agility 22-2

ALPENA, Michigan – Less than six weeks after completing the first A-10 Thunderbolt II Integrated Combat Turns (ICTs) in history, Airmen from the 127th Wing, Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Michigan, have taken another step to the Air Force’s Doctrine Agile Combat Employment Aug. 8-12, alongside joint and allied partners from the Royal Canadian Air Force, Michigan National Guard, and U.S. Marine Corps Reserves during the Exercise Northern Strike 22 sponsored by the National Guard Bureau.

For five consecutive days, 127 Wing A-10s conducted operations from separate locations across the state, including Cherry Capital Airport in Traverse City, Grayling Army Airfield, Oscoda-Wurtsmith Airport, Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center and Battle Creek Executive Airport. This event, known as Northern Agility 22-2 and nested within the larger Northern Strike 22 exercise plan, demonstrates logistics under attack and joint integration into ACE, which is the ability to execute missions quickly in an unpredictable way. The significance of these events was underscored on August 11 when the integrated combat turns at Alpena CRTC were observed in person by Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall.

“Northern Agility seamlessly integrated with Northern Strike shows how ACE can be integrated into joint combat,” said Air Force Brig. Gen. Bryan Teff, commander of the Michigan Air National Guard. “Northern Strike provides the perfect backdrop for Michigan to continue advancing key Air Force doctrines as a center of excellence for ACE.”

Throughout the event, the A-10 aircraft were fueled and maintained by personnel assigned to Alpena CRTC, Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center, Fort Custer Training Center, 127th Wing, 1-111th Aviation Battalion General Support of the Florida National Guard, the Oklahoma Air National Guard’s 137th Special Operations Wing and the 471st Marine Wing Support Squadron. U.S. Army Extended Mobility Tactical Trucks (HEMTTs) were used to support resupply, while A-10 maintainers were transported to each operating site in CH-47 Chinook helicopters from the Michigan and Florida National Guard, C-130H aircraft from the Royal Canadian Air Force’s 436 Transport Squadron and the Illinois Air National Guard’s 182d Airlift Wing. Additionally, MC-130H aircraft from the 15th Special Operations Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Fla. participated in training designed to deepen ACE and multi-capable Airmen.

Additionally, the Kelly Johnson Joint All-Domain Innovation Center partnered with industry partners during Northern Agility 22-2 to demonstrate numerous augmented reality technologies to enhance the concept of multi-capable airman, rapid integration of the command and control ecosystem, synthetic aperture radar, advanced threat detection and visualization and other features.

The Kelly Johnson Joint All-Domain Innovation Center, based at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Macomb County, Michigan, is a living laboratory where new ideas and technologies are born, tested and evaluated for future warfare. Michigan is also home to the National All-Domain Warfighting Center (NADWC), making the state an engine of testing and innovation within the Department of Defense.

“This week was a significant milestone for ACE, leading what we believe to be the first ever joint TICs and working with the US military to deliver fuel to austere locations using their specialized HEMTT equipment and logistics as part of attack procedures,” said the Air Force Lt. Col. Brian Wyrzykowski, senior operations planner for Northern Agility 22-2. “From our Canadian allies providing airlift support and logistics to our navy and army partners providing and connecting fuel services for our A-10 aircraft, it is a true team effort that has makes Northern Agility 22-2 a success.”