NIAGARA FALLS N.Y.- One hundred and twenty Airmen assigned to the 107th Attack Wing completed their annual large-scale readiness exercise, Niagara Warrior, Oct. 17-20.
The exercise simulated a contested operating area with degraded operating conditions. All available duty stations, from Civil Engineering to Communications, Medical, Security Forces and Logistics Readiness, participated.
This year’s event focused on sustaining a presence in those conditions with more advanced opposition force capabilities.
Small uncrewed aircraft systems were introduced to the annual exercise for the first time with the help of local and federal law enforcement, who used the opportunity to familiarize and train themselves with the equipment, said Lt. Col. Damon Antonetti, the 107th’s operations plans and integration officer.
“It was a nice touch, being able to learn different nine-line, when and when not to call it in. It was good experience,” said Senior Airman Harry Hartman, assigned to 107th Security Forces.
During the four-day exercise, Airmen were presented with over 200 situational challenges, or ‘injects,’ allowing them to practice their skills in real-world scenarios.
Injects included a simulated cyber attack on a secured network, medical emergencies, disenfranchised Airmen, chemical attacks, full-scale assaults of the main gate and riots.
“I really liked the drones that were used,” said Senior Airman Shane Such, 107th Communications Squadron. “It provided a great example of a very real-world, emerging threat we see coming out.”
“Over all, I thought it went really well,” said Such. “We were really able to show that we’re able to do our jobs in a situation like this and effectively accomplish the mission.”
“We had the opportunity to tabletop a scenario where a chemical attack occurred, and we had to explain how we would handle that, step by step, start to finish,” said Staff Sgt. Richard Berrios, assigned to 107th Medical Group.
Other Airmen were excited about building morale and connecting with fellow squad members.
“Being able to showcase our experience and training like that was very exciting, and I think now everyone feels more confident going down range,” Berrios said.
“I really like the camaraderie,” said Hartman. “Security Forces is a pretty tight-knit unit. We’ve all been together for at least five years, and some folks have been here for over 15. It’s just nice to have all of us out here having fun while training.”
Preparations have already begun to improve the iteration planned for next year.
“The members who deployed for this iteration provided some great feedback,” said Antonetti. “In 2025, we will continue to develop our readiness culture by reinforcing our Airmen’s various skills needed to operate in a combat environment.”