An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Home : News : Article View
NEWS | Nov. 26, 2019

Operation Blue Moon prepares Wisconsin Guard for dual mission

By Spc. Emma Anderson Wisconsin National Guard

WEST BEND, Wis. — Five Wisconsin National Guard units and one Louisiana Air National Guard unit helped build readiness for the National Guard’s dual mission in a November training exercise.

Dubbed Operation Blue Moon, the exercise was designed to prepare Soldiers and Airmen for deployments through firsthand training, including nine-line medevac, response to point-of-injury site, litter carries, medical care and equipment maintenance.

“This training gives Soldiers the knowledge to be more proficient at their [Military Occupational Specialty],” said Sgt. Adam Harris, with 2nd Battalion, 104th General Support Aviation Regiment, in West Bend.

All training was completed with the support of UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters. The Black Hawks flew teams of Soldiers to the point-of-injury site to pick up Soldiers with simulated injuries. Once receiving the information regarding the point-of-injury site, teams had up to 15 minutes to get off the ground. They then returned to medical aid stations where medics were waiting to provide treatment.

Helicopters flew from four sites for Operation Blue Moon; Fond Du Lac, New Holstein, West Bend and Watertown. Each site had flight operations, flight crews and two Black Hawks.

Staff Sgt. Micah Lillegare, a platoon sergeant and paramedic for the 168th General Support Aviation Battalion, believes training like this is valuable for Soldiers.

“It gets away from doing a lot of notional things or just talking through whatever it is you’re training on,” Lillegare said. “It gives you hands-on experience. It’s good exposure for new Soldiers to see how things actually work versus just talking about it or looking at PowerPoints.”

Pfc. Nicole Atkinson, a medic with the Waukesha-based 135th Area Support Medical Company, agreed.

“It’s important because it’s real-life scenarios.” she said. “This isn’t the training you get while you’re in AIT (Advanced Individual Training); it’s what you’ll actually be doing.”

Throughout the operation, Atkinson helped prepare equipment in advance, ran out to the Black Hawks with a litter team to receive simulated casualties and provided further medical care at the battalion aid station.

Capt. Patrick Peterson, the forward support medical platoon leader for the operation, as well as an officer with the 168th General Support Aviation Battalion, said hands-on training like Operation Blue Moon strengthens individual units. He said stronger units result in better support for Wisconsin National Guard’s mission of always being ready for both its federal mission as the Army’s primary combat reserve and its state mission as Wisconsin’s first military responder in emergencies.

“It tests not only our ability to deploy to another environment but also prepares us to complete tasks we do in support of domestic operations,” Peterson said.

 

 

Related Articles
U.S. Soldiers with the Army National Guard speak with D.C. locals while patrolling Metro Center Aug 26, 2025. About 2,000 National Guard members are supporting the D.C. Safe and Beautiful mission providing critical support to the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department in ensuring the safety of all who live, work, and visit the District.
Guard Members From Six States, D.C. on Duty in Washington in Support of Local, Fed Authorities
By Sgt. 1st Class Jon Soucy, | Aug. 29, 2025
WASHINGTON – More than 2,000 National Guard Soldiers and Airmen from six states and the District of Columbia are on duty in Washington as part of Joint Task Force – District of Columbia in support of local and federal...

Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, Maj. Gen. Russel Honore, Task Force Katrina commander, and Brig. Gen. John Basilica, 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team commander, talk to news media during the aftermath of Hurricane Rita on Sep. 29, 2005. Basilica was appointed commander of Task Force Pelican, responsible for coordinating National Guard hurricane response efforts across the State. The task force included tens of thousands of National Guard Soldiers from Louisiana and other states.
Louisiana Guard’s Tiger Brigade Marks 20th Anniversary of Redeployment and Hurricane Response
By Rhett Breerwood, | Aug. 29, 2025
NEW ORLEANS – This fall, the Louisiana National Guard’s 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, known as the Tiger Brigade, commemorates the 20th anniversary of its redeployment from Iraq in September 2005, coinciding with the...

Alaska Air National Guard HH-60G Pave Hawk aviators and Guardian Angels, assigned to the 210th and 212th Rescue Squadrons, respectively, conduct a hoist rescue demonstration while participating in a multi-agency hoist symposium at Bryant Army Airfield on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, July 22, 2025. The symposium, hosted by Alaska Army National Guard aviators assigned to Golf Company, 2-211th General Support Aviation Battalion, included U.S. Coast Guard crews assigned to Sector Western Alaska and U.S. Arctic out of Air Stations Kodiak and Sitka, Alaska Air National Guardsmen with the 176th Wing rescue squadrons, U.S. Army aviators from Fort Wainwright’s 1-52nd General Support Aviation Battalion, Alaska State Troopers, and civilian search and rescue professional volunteers from the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group. The collaborative training drew on the participants’ varied backgrounds, experiences, and practices, to enhance hoist proficiency and collective readiness when conducting life-saving search and rescue missions in Alaska’s vast and austere terrain. (Alaska Army National Guard photo by Alejandro Peña)
Alaska Air Guard Conducts Multiple Hoist Rescues of Stranded Rafters on Kichatna River
By Staff Sgt. Seth LaCount, | Aug. 29, 2025
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — Alaska Air National Guard members with the 176th Wing rescued three rafters Aug. 28 after their raft flipped over on the Kichatna River.The Alaska Rescue Coordination Center opened...