GRAYLING, Mich. – Camp Grayling, northern Michigan’s joint military training complex, offered a cold-weather joint training exercise called Northern Strike 20-2/“Winter Strike” in January.
Soldiers from a Wisconsin Army National Guard field artillery unit were able to focus on how terrain and winter conditions can affect their operation while working with other branches of service including the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps. Their focus was to provide direct and indirect fire, commonly called integrate fires.
“Our mission is to integrate fires into a joint situation where we are supporting other services,” said U.S. Army Capt. Michael Lindow, commander, C Battery, 1st Battalion, 120th Field Artillery Regiment, Wisconsin Army National Guard. “This training is to get into the integrated joint-fires mindset and also get our Soldiers into that operating scenario.”
The unit usually conducts training within its own battalion or brigade, so operating outside its command was a new experience. Winter Strike prepares Soldiers for missions outside the scope of the U.S. Army.
“Typically, our training is consolidated, and we don’t operate outside of the Army,” said Lindow. “This exercise will get our Soldiers exposed to working in a joint operating environment.”
During the joint exercise, the unit communicated with and relied on other services to get rounds down range and on point. A forward observer (FO) constantly communicated with field artillery units to help coordinate targets.
“We will get the target identified from an FO,” said Lindow. “They will send us the targeting data in order for us to get rounds where they need to be.”
Others acknowledged learning from working with sister service FOs.
“It’s a lot different communicating with FOs from a different joint force – it’s is a great experience,” said U.S. Army Spc. Ryan Walling, C Battery, 1-120th Field Artillery Regiment, Wisconsin Army National Guard.
Along with a new communication mindset, Winter Strike gives Soldiers a bigger perspective of joint maneuvers.
“Just seeing how it all comes together, especially from the communications standpoint with other services [is important],” said U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Michael LeDoux, C Battery, 1-120th Field Artillery Regiment, Wisconsin Army National Guard. “It brings in a different aspect and allows for me to see the big picture of joint operations.”
Camp Grayling includes 147,000 acres of ground maneuver space and is the largest military training airspace east of the Mississippi – perfect for large-scale exercises. The winter exercise is the first expansion of Northern Strike, the largest reserve-component Department of Defense exercise.
Soldiers were able to test the M777A2 155 mm howitzer, a complex piece of equipment, in Michigan’s cold climate.
“Making sure the howitzer system is able to hold the pressures in the cold will be challenging,” said LeDoux. “This climate is good to really test our equipment and to see the speed of getting the rounds in and out of the tube.”
“Since we’ve been here, we have already experienced snow, sleet and freezing rain,” said Walling. “We normally work in hot temperatures, humidity and rain, so learning how to train in different temperatures and different climates has been beneficial.”
“It’s the first time I’ve ever shot in the wintertime,” said Lindow. “We’ve shot during cold days in the spring and fall in Wisconsin, but nothing like this.”