AE61F6 - AE61F9 Who or what are they?

This block of hex codes is very interesting on many different levels. I have seen tie-ups all over the place because of all the mixed signals that have seen in the various intercepts.

Here is what I have seen:
AE61F6 5/13/2019 Mode-S c/s 1720978, Fixer 55
AE61F7 6/6/2019 Mode-S c/s G20979, R20979, Assault (ASLT) 979, LAC5873
AE61F8 7/2/2019 Mode-S c/s 1820980, LAC5875
AE61F9 7/3/2019 Mode-S c/s Raid 91, LAC5876

The first three do not look like C-130s, unless the Army has purchased some. Look at AE61F7. These Mode-S calls G20979, R20979 indicate US Army and National Guard G#####. The AE61F6 1720978 and AE61F8 1820980 are US Army serials. But all have either a LAC Mode-S or Fixer 55 call which is used by Lockheed down in Marietta and I see here almost daily for the 130J testing program.

Finally, I have seen the Raid ## call used by the 27SOW/9SOS Night Wings out of Cannon AFB, NM. (See below)

AE61F9 17-5876/18-20 RAID91 2019-07-03 13:30:08 MC-130J United States USAF | 5731 20825

Not sure what is going on here but does anyone know if the Army has purchased some 130 rolling stock? Or is Lockheed intentionally miscoding these to fool those of us reporting their test? Or is it something different? These blocks are preassigned by DoD to Majcoms and then usually further assigned to airframes and or tactical use. This block fascinates me. Comments and thoughts are most welcomed at this point. Send them along to the email addy in the masthead.

Happy 4th to you all and keep our military servicemen and their families in your thoughts and prayers as we celebrate the day we declared our independence.

Update: Mystery of the AZAZ909 Call Sign

I love a good military mystery, don't you? Well here is one that has stumped me for quite a while. As my old friend Jack NeSmith use to say, "guess your Google isn't so strong this morning Chief."

In the Mode-S call sign block of some US Army a/c I see the call AZAZ909. I have seen this call associated with Cessna UC-35 aircraft flown by the OSACOM PATD at Joint Base Andrews NAF, MD (KADW), specifically:

97-00104 AE012E
98-00008 AE036E
98-00009 AE036F
00-01053 AE093C
01-00301 AE093D

And in the recent past by the US State Department Air Wing Patrick AFB, FL (KCOF)

Alenia C-27A Spartan #N12310 A0616B
Alenia C-27A Spartan #N23743 A22581

And just now the mystery of the AZAZ909 c/s just deepened. Appears the Russians are using at also.

See the following:
https://thesaker.is/a-few-military-secrets-to-put-in-your-pipe-and-smoke-by-scott/

And there are now other links about the Russians using AZA909 as well.

So does anyone want to hazard a guess what this AZAZ909 Mode-S call sign is all about?

Army taps Airbus for 35 UH-72A Lakota helicopters

Airbus Helicopters has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Army for 35 UH-72A Lakota aircraft. The deal, announced Thursday by the Department of Defense, is valued at more than $273.2 million under the terms of a firm-fixed-price contract.

The agreement between the Army and Airbus Helicopters taps the company to provide 35 UH-72A Lakota aircraft.

The UH-72A is a twin-engine helicopter with a single, four-bladed main rotor.

The helicopter is used in a domestic utility role to transport troops and supplies by the Army and National Guard, and has been in use since 2007.

Work on the contract will occur in Columbus, Miss., and is expected to be complete by March 2021.

More than $136.6 million will be obligated to Airbus Helicopters from Army fiscal 2017 and 2018 aircraft procurement funds.

US Army to modernize existing CONUS land mobile radio systems

Photo courtesy of Harris

Geoff Fein - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly

Key Points

• The five-year effort will link all US Army bases
• The army wants to move from proprietary systems to open standards

Harris and Motorola Solutions will each upgrade and modernise the existing US Army land mobile radio system infrastructure, as well as replace systems with the latest technology.

Each company received an award of USD461.246 million to update the 63 army installations within the United States. The bases resemble cities, equipped with emergency services, similar to those found in municipal settings, Carlos Whaley, director for federal sales for Harris Public Safety and Professional Communications (PSPC), told Jane’s.

“These 63 army bases are like islands, they have communications systems that are not connected outside of the base; so for example at Fort Benning, Georgia, they can talk to Fort Benning, Georgia, and that is it,” Whaley said.

The U.S. Army's Newest Spy Plane Is in Action in Africa and Latin America

After almost getting canned in 2012, the Enhanced Medium Altitude Reconnaissance and Surveillance System is now snooping abroad.

The first version of the U.S. Army’s newest spy plane is in action in Africa and Latin America. At the same time, the service is finishing tests of three additional sub-variants in Arizona.

On March 12, 2017, Scout Warrior first reported these overseas deployments. The War Zone subsequently learned only some of the four signals intelligence-focused versions of the Enhanced Medium Altitude Reconnaissance and Surveillance System (EMARSS-S) were snooping abroad.

You can read the rest of this story on The WarZone website at http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/8443/the-u-s-armys-newest-spy-plane-is-in-action-in-africa-and-latin-america.

Army Spy Plane Flying Missions on the Korean DMZ

US Army EO-5C Aircraft courtesy of The Aviationist (US Army Photo)

Mode-S ADS-B tracking and sharing is a really cool aspect of government/military aircraft monitoring. Again this morning it showed its worth when one of my twitter mil friends posted an intercept regarding N59AG flying up on the Korean DMZ. This isn't the first rodeo for that aircraft up there. In fact, they are regular visitors to that garden spot in the world. Disguised with a US civilian aircraft registration, the aircraft is a US Army EO-5C spy plane, one of three in the region.

Read more about these aircraft and their mission in Korea on The Aviationist website at
U.S. Army spyplane pops-up on Flightradar24 during mission south of the Korean DMZ

Operation Atlantic Resolve

For well over a month now I have been seeing an increase in US Army aviation activity in central and eastern Europe. This morning I identified one of the units as the 3-501 AVN (Assault) based out of Fort Bliss/Biggs AAF flying the UH-60M. Turns out they are forward deployed to Europe conducting what DoD calls Operation Atlantic Resolve.

From the El Paso Times an article dated May 8 by David Burge:

FORT BLISS – Soldiers from Fort Bliss’ air-assault helicopter battalion have been busy training since December for their next mission – to deploy to Europe and show support for U.S. allies on that continent.

About 400 aviation soldiers, mostly from 3rd Battalion, 501st Aviation Regiment, will deploy to central and eastern Europe in mid-summer to support Operation Atlantic Resolve, said Lt. Col. Jason Arriaga, the battalion’s commander and commander of the aviation task force that will be deploying.
Joining the 3-501st will be some soldiers from sister unit, 2nd Battalion, 501st Aviation Regiment, Arriaga said. Both units are part of the 1st Armored Division Combat Aviation Brigade.
The task force will be gone for nine months.

Operation Atlantic Resolve is an ongoing show of commitment and resolve by the United States toward its NATO and other European allies.

While over there, the aviation task force . . . will do some of its own training, will train with various European nations and will support ongoing training at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Germany, Arriaga said.

The Apocalypse Battalion, as 3-501st is nicknamed, will bring its M model Black Hawks, the latest version of the helicopter. Sister unit 2-501st will be bringing the latest version of specially equipped Black Hawks that are used for medical evacuations.

These soldiers joined together to participate in both Bulldog Focus and Iron Focus with 3rd Brigade Combat Team earlier this year at Fort Bliss.

They also went with 3rd Brigade, also part of the 1st Armored Division, for its April rotation at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif. The 3rd Brigade is preparing for its own deployment to Kuwait later this spring or summer.

Apocalypse has supported and participated in numerous training exercises here at Fort Bliss, including past Iron Focus events and the Network Integration Evaluation, which is held twice a year.
The battalion has also gone to NTC twice in the past year and a half. In addition to its recent trip to the Mojave Desert, Apocalypse went in September 2014 to support what was then Fort Bliss’ 4th Brigade before it reflagged to 3rd Brigade.

Elements of 3-501st also went to the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, La., in January to take part in 1st Brigade’s rotation there.

It will be just the third aviation unit to go over to support Operation Atlantic Resolve since that mission began in the spring of 2014, Arriaga said.

Factor in this deployment along with the buildup of US assets in the Baltic States and the massive buildup by the Russians all along their border with Eastern Europe and we have to watch very carefully a potentially serious situation in Europe.

More as we get it and be sure to follow our twitter feed @MilcomMP for current breaking events and news from our Milcom Monitoring Post.

These Elite Military Helicopter Units Fly Washington's Power Players

Washington D.C. is a fast moving place, and for those in the very top echelons of power, both time and security trump cost efficiency when it comes to transportation. The Department Of Defense has trio of helicopter squadrons ready to fly these VIPs around the region, and to safety should something catastrophic ever occur.

The three squadrons covered are the US Army 12th Aviation Battalion, the US Air Force 1st Helicopter Squadron, and the US Marine Corps HMX-1 VIP Transport Squadron.

Excellent article written by Tyler Rogoway at http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/these-elite-military-helicopter-units-fly-washingtons-p-1704260996

Sky Soldiers parachute into Romania for rapid deployment exercise

U.S. Army paratroopers from 1st Squadron, 91st Cavalry Regiment, 173rd Airborne board a U.S. Air Force C130J Oct. 21, 2014 at Nuernburg Airport as part of a brigade Emergency Deployment Readiness Exercise. The paratroopers parachuted into NATO ally Romania for training roughly 24 hours after initial notification to test their readiness as the U.S. Army Contingency Response Force in Europe. (Photo Credit: Sarah Tate)

Blog Editor Note: HF activity associated with this exercise has been observed on 4901.0 5088.0 5802.0 kHz ALE/USB using ALE addresses BDFIRES173EDRE BDINTLO173EDRE BDRED173EDRE BDXRAY173EDRE

By Maj. Michael J Weisman, U.S. Army Europe

GRAFENWOEHR TRAINING AREA, Germany (Oct. 22, 2014) -- Approximately 90 paratroopers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade's 1st Squadron, 91st Cavalry Regiment conducted an airborne operation into Campia Turzi, Romania, yesterday, to start the field portion of an Emergency Deployment Readiness Exercise, referred to as an EDRE.

The exercise tests the paratroopers' ability to plan and execute full-spectrum operations on short notice as the U.S. Army Contingency Response Force in Europe. As such, the brigade provides ready troops to deploy within 18 hours, anywhere in the U.S. European, Africa or Central Command areas of responsibility.

Some 24 hours prior, instead of reporting to work for scheduled training, the squadron instead received notification from the brigade headquarters they would be deploying to Romania the next morning. The squadron then conducted mission analysis and began the orders process, drew necessary weapons and equipment, and headed to Grafenwoehr Army Airfield to don parachutes, conduct mission briefs and load the awaiting U.S. Air Force C-130 Hercules aircraft.

"We started with a warning order at [6 a.m.]," said Maj. Matthew Work, the brigade's executive officer, referring to the surprise notification. "This is part of building the readiness culture we have in the 173rd [Airborne Brigade], and building upon what we've been asked to do for U.S. Army Europe in expanding our EDRE capability."

After three hours in the air, approximately 900 kilometers east, the paratroopers jumped in all the equipment and supplies they would need for the next three days. From the drop zone, the paratroopers made linkup with Romanian troops on the ground, who played the role of host-nation forces in the scenario the paratroopers are operating in.

"These guys are thinking about once they leave the aircraft, what they have to do when they hit the ground to be able to assemble quickly and move out to their objective," said Sgt. Maj. Steven Campbell, the brigade's operations non-commissioned officer in charge. "It gets right at the heart of being ready to go at a moment's notice. Once they conduct the airborne assault, the commanders and leaders will be challenged because they'll be deprived of a lot of things -- sleep, food -- they're going to move long distances. The commander will have to take the intelligence he receives along the way and make critical decisions, which will drive where their unit goes."

As part of the EDRE, the brigade purposefully introduced stressors such as the uncertain environment, long foot movements and lack of sleep, all with an active opposing force in the area.

"Part of this EDRE is having our Soldiers being comfortable with the unknown," explained Work. "We are going to get our leaders and Soldiers to a point where they are tired and uncomfortable. They're going to deal with the unknown and cause people to think differently under stress and duress."

This is leader training all throughout, from the private all the way through the organization," added Work. "We have a number of scenarios that are set up to test leaders and help them think through problems. It's a phenomenal event that stresses the organization."

For the brigade, the execution of the drill is the culmination of months of effort, coordinating with the Romanian military and U.S. Embassy in Bucharest to provide tough, realistic training for the paratroopers.

"We've worked closely with our Romanian allies over the weeks leading up to this exercise," said Capt. David Dean, a brigade logistical planner who liaised with Romanian military forces in planning the exercise. Their professionalism and efforts in planning this event made this possible."

The EDRE is the first in a series of planned exercises over the next two months involving troops from the 173rd Airborne Brigade, alongside their NATO allies in Romania. The exercises are a part of Operation Atlantic Resolve, demonstrating U.S. commitment to NATO collective defense as well as building interoperability with allied forces.

Romania has been and continues to be a strong NATO ally," said Dean. "An exercise likes this demonstrates that and sets the stage for a series of future exercises to build on."

The EDRE comes just two weeks after the brigade finished its six-month deployment to Poland and the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The "Sky Soldiers" of the 173rd Airborne Brigade transferred responsibility for that portion of the Atlantic Resolve mission to Soldiers from the U.S. Army's 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division.

"It's all about readiness," said Campbell. "They have to be ready. We don't know where we're going next, but we know we have to be ready at a moment's notice to answer the call."

Interesting Things Afoot at the 224 MI Bn

MC-12W 10-0739 on final to Hunter AAF as SUNNY 22, Photo courtesy of Mac McCormick and the KF4LMT Radio Shack blog, All rights reserved.

Our good friend Mac McCormick posted some interesting observations on his KF4LMT Radio Shack blog regarding a "possible" future hardware/mission change for the 224BN based ar Hunter AAF. Details on his blog at http://kf4lmt.wordpress.com/2014/10/15/interesting-things-afoot-at-the-224-mi-bn/

C-17 Airmen load, move Strykers during first ever exercise

By Staff Sgt. Terri Paden, 15th Wing Public Affairs

JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii (AFNS) -- Airmen from the 15th Wing and Soldiers from the 25th Infantry Division loaded Stryker combat vehicles onto C-17s for the first time during an Emergency Deployment Readiness Exercise in Hawaii Oct. 17.

In this first practical demonstration, the C-17 crews successfully uploaded two of the Army's Stryker combat vehicles and flew them to Pohakuloa Training Area on Kona for the exercise.  Exercise players  included the Army's 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division and the Air Force's 535th Airlift Squadron and 15th Wing.

The Stryker, the Army's Interim Armored Vehicle, is used to provide quick response maneuvering capability, enhanced survivability and lethality and expand fight versatility.

Until now, the Army has always moved their Hawaii based Stryker vehicles via ships.

"We all knew the C-17 can carry Strykers, but this is a very big deal for us," said Army Sgt. 1st Class Eric Pettengill, 380th Ground Liaison Detachment. "It is the first time we have loaded the Strykers onto the C-17 and conducted a fly-away mission with them."

The C-17 Globemaster III is known for being able to rapidly deploy troops and cargo all over the world; however, this recent validation exercise confirmed the 535th's ability to extend the range of Hawaii-based armored units.

Army Warrant Officer Danny Thurman of the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team said though the initial purpose of the exercise was to simply validate the ability to transport the Strykers, the short timeline enabled the 25 ID to test the Army's ability to deploy a quick reaction force.

"The timeline for this exercise was extremely short. In less than 24 hours we were able to plan, coordinate and execute the mission," said Pettengill. "This would not have been possible without the close relationship between the 15th Wing and the 25th ID. This training validated 2 SBCT's proficiency as a quick reaction force, further enhancing USARPAC's rapid deployment capability as USPACOM's response force in the Pacific AOR [area of responsibility.]"

Army, Air Force collaboration leads to improved SIPR email service

By Maj. Brooke Brander, Air Force Space Command Public Affairs

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. (AFNS) -- In continued collaboration between the Air Force and the Army, the entire Air Force will migrate to Secure Internet Protocol Router, Department of Defense Enterprise Email over the next year.

Approximately 150,000 SIPR Network users will migrate to the Defense Information Systems Agency SIPR email enterprise services over fiscal year 2014. The Air National Guard will be first to transition to the SIPR email enterprise.

"The SIPR DEE migration allows the Air Force to leverage an enterprise JIE capability and improve secure email delivery services," said Brig. General Kevin Wooton, Air Force Space Command director of communications. "The migration to SIPR DEE provides significant operational efficiencies and allows the Air Force to focus on our cyber mission sets rather than email infrastructure."

The migration to SIPR DEE will reduce Air Force Operations and Maintenance cost while modernizing infrastructure. In addition, the migration will converge infrastructure services and make available enterprise services, providing operational capabilities that will enhance the Air Force cyber mission.

"The continued spirit of cooperation and partnership between the Air Force, Army, and DISA as we move toward JIE is greatly appreciated," said General William L. Shelton, Commander of Air Force Space Command. "The SIPR DEE migration will allow us to more efficiently use our cyber professionals, ensuring the cyber domain is secure as we continue to operationalize capabilities."

The SIPR DEE migration is another step toward the Air Force's move toward the Joint Information Environment architecture.

"The Air Force is very committed to JIE and we want to make sure we do it the right way," said General Shelton. "There are great opportunities that the Air Force is leveraging with SIPR DEE; however, there are still challenges with enterprise services on the NIPR Net specifically in the area of cost efficiencies."

The SIPR DEE migration is in addition to the new architecture-sharing and modernization agreement among the Air Force, the Army and the DISA focused on next generation network configurations and regional security stacks that will increase bandwidth and network security and avoid more than $1 billion in future costs.

S.C. Air National Guard's Eagle Vision IV provides flood support to Colo.

FORT LUPTON, Colo. - Members of the 169th Communications Flight Eagle Vision IV (EV4) Mobile Ground Satellite Station, located at McEntire JNGB, S.C., provided images to support the flood recovery efforts taking place in Colo.

The flood damage spanned more than 2,000 square miles across 15 counties, stranding more than 1,000 residents and damaging or destroying as many as 19,000 homes, according to authorities.
So far, the floods have claimed the lives of eight people and 600 are still unaccounted for. Roadways and bridges have been destroyed since the flooding began on Sept. 11, making the recovery effort that much more difficult. On Sept. 15, President Obama signed a major disaster declaration, ordering federal aid for the flood-ravaged state.

Due to the heavy cloud cover over the flooded areas, Master Sgt. Eddie McManus and Staff Sgt. Dennis McDougal, EV4 Data Acquisition Segment operators, worked with RADARSAT 2 to acquire cloud-penetrating radar images. Once the images were obtained, they handed them over to Master Sgt. Troy Wilkerson, Data Integration Segment operator.

Wilkerson decided to apply a technique that involves overlapping an aerial image with a transparent radar image. He called his colleague and subject matter expert, Derrold Holcomb of Intergraph Government Solutions. Holcomb assisted Wilkerson with the process of interpreting the radar images to identify the flooded areas. Once that was accomplished, Wilkerson highlighted the flooded boundaries with bright red. Next, he made the radar image transparent enough to overlap over an aerial image of the same area. The final product clearly marked all bodies of water in a bright red boundary.

Wilkerson distributed the final product to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (A2), Air National Guard Readiness Center and the state of Colorado Intelligence Staff (J2). The feedback he received was tremendous. The Colo. J2, Lt. Col. Stephanie Patrick, was very appreciative and asked for any follow-up products. Glen Bethel, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, has also asked for the images so that he can potentially identify any crop damage.

The Eagle Vision Program consists of five DOD-deployable, commercial satellite ground stations that are located in South Carolina, Alabama, California, Hawaii and Germany. They each provide customers with near real-time commercial, satellite imagery of locations within their 1,300 mile visibility circle.

Eagle Vision stations are used to collect and disseminate imagery to various government agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency and USGS during natural disasters. They also support mission planning, time-critical targeting and non-war related operations.

Because Eagle Vision stations have the capability to quickly acquire near real-time unclassified satellite imagery, they are highly sought after and utilized during most natural disasters within their visibility circle.

The EV4 teams most often provide images for events such as fires, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, etc. They have supported first responder efforts during hurricanes Sandy and Katrina, the earthquakes in Japan and Haiti, as well as tornado and fires in the Midwest.

Successful Missile Defense Test Against Multiple Targets

WESTERN PACIFIC (NNS) -- The Missile Defense Agency (MDA), Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) Operational Test Agency, Joint Functional Component Command for Integrated Missile Defense, and U.S. Pacific Command, in conjunction with U.S. Army Soldiers from the Alpha Battery, 2nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment, U.S. Navy Sailors aboard guided missile destroyer USS Decatur (DDG-73), and U.S. Air Force Airmen from the 613th Air and Operations Center successfully conducted a complex missile defense flight test, resulting in the intercept of two medium-range ballistic missile targets.

The flight test was planned more than a year ago, and is not in any way connected to events in the Middle East.

The test was conducted in the vicinity of the U.S. Army Kwajalein Atoll/Reagan Test Site and surrounding areas in the western Pacific. The test stressed the ability of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) weapon systems to function in a layered defense architecture and defeat a raid of two near-simultaneous ballistic missile targets.

The two medium-range ballistic missile targets were launched on operationally realistic trajectories towards a defended area near Kwajalein. Along with overhead space assets providing launch alerts, an Army-Navy/Transportable Radar Surveillance and Control (AN/TPY-2) radar in Forward Based Mode detected the targets and relayed track information to the Command, Control, Battle Management, and Communications (C2BMC) system for further transmission to defending BMDS assets.

The USS Decatur with its Aegis Weapon System detected and tracked the first target with its onboard AN/SPY-1 radar. The Aegis BMD weapon system developed a fire control solution, launched a Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IA missile, and successfully intercepted the target.

In a demonstration of BMDS layered defense capabilities, a second AN/TPY-2 radar in Terminal Mode, located with the THAAD weapon system, acquired and tracked the target missiles. THAAD developed a fire control solution, launched a THAAD interceptor missile, and successfully intercepted the second medium-range ballistic missile target. THAAD was operated by soldiers from the Alpha Battery, 2nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment. As a planned demonstration of THAAD's layered defense capabilities, a second THAAD interceptor was launched at the target destroyed by Aegis as a contingency in the event the SM-3 did not achieve an intercept.

Initial indications are that all components performed as designed. MDA officials will extensively assess and evaluate system performance based upon telemetry and other data obtained during the test.

The event, a designated Flight Test Operational-01 (FTO-01), demonstrated integrated, layered, regional missile defense capabilities to defeat a raid of two threat-representative medium-range ballistic missiles in a combined live-fire operational test. Soldiers, sailors, and airmen from multiple combatant commands operated the systems, and were provided a unique opportunity to refine operational doctrine and tactics while increasing confidence in the execution of integrated air and missile defense plans.

U.S. Ballistic Missile Defense System programs have completed 62 successful hit-to-kill intercepts in 78 flight test attempts since 2001.

Thousands train during nuclear-bomb scenarios for Vibrant Response

A UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter from Company B, 2nd Battalion, 147th Aviation Regiment, based out of Frankfort, Ky., fills up during water bucket firefighting training at Muscatatuck Urban Training Center in Butlerville, Ind., during Vibrant Response, Aug. 6, 2013. (Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Brad Staggs, Atterbury-Muscatatuck Public Affairs)

By Capt. Daniel VanHorn,  2/138th Field Artillery

CAMP ATTERBURY, Ind. (8/13/13) - How would state and federal agencies react if a nuclear bomb detonated in two major metropolitan areas? Similar scenarios played out across Indiana, where Soldiers from the Kentucky National Guard's 63rd Theater Aviation Brigade conducted their annual two-week training, as part of an exercise called Vibrant Response.

Exercise Vibrant Response is a major homeland emergency response exercise conducted by U.S. Northern Command.

The exercise was facilitated by approximately 5,700 service members and civilians from federal and state agencies throughout the country. They trained at Camp Atterbury Joint Maneuver Training Center near Edinburgh, Ind. and Muscatatuck Urban Training Center near Butlerville, Ind., as well as throughout Southern Indiana to respond to a catastrophic domestic incident.

Col. Michael Ferguson, Commander of the 63rd TAB, has been preparing his brigade for this mission for the past year. He understands the importance this training is for real-life disasters his Soldiers might have to face.

"Our goal is to respond with speed and accuracy and be at the right place and right time to save lives," he said. "Aviation assets are crucial when it comes to casualty evacuations and disaster area assessments and they can get in and out faster than any other available asset."

Over the last four years, the 63rd has participated in five large-scale scenarios similar to this one, as part of their validation requirements by their higher headquarters, U.S. Army North.

The brigade currently has one of the missions as a dedicated response force to provide command and control of aviation assets for Joint Task Force-Civil Support, the unit charged with heading up the Department of Defense response in the event of a major catastrophe.

Camp Atterbury, Ind., Aug.2, 2013. A variety of Kentucky National Guard units worked to support each other as part of Exercise Vibrant Response in (?-LVH)

According to Warrant Officer Brandon Kruchinski, a UH-60 Blackhawk pilot with B Company, 2-147th Assault Company, the exercise provided valuable opportunities to hone their skills in a variety of tasks.

"It's been good experience working hand in hand with various agencies,"  Kruchinski said. "We can use this training to become better at responding to a disaster. The real-world training is valuable because it allows us to cross-train with other agencies."

Pilots were not the only Soldiers benefiting from the scale of the exercise.

The 351st Aviation Support Company, out of Frankfort, Ky., consists of numerous mobile maintenance facilities that can be packed and shipped to any location. Each container weighs about 15,000 pounds and has every tool needed to conduct repairs on downed or deadlines aviation assets. The systems are designed to be transported on the highway within hours of notification.

According to 1st Sgt. Timothy Porter, the 351st is comprised of more than 70 Soldiers who usually learn about helicopter maintenance by reading equipment and maintenance manuals. With the exercise underway, they have been able to work on Indiana's dead-lined UH-60 helicopters.
"Conducting maintenance on the Indiana National Guard aviation assets allows our Soldiers to become validated on actual helicopters while gaining experience with transporting our mobile shop systems," said Porter.

Vibrant Response has provided a wide variety of training experiences to Soldiers of the Kentucky National Guard.

Often the exercise uses units from across the country and other assets in order to accomplish their training. This year, the 63rd deployed with its subordinate units from within the Commonwealth. The UH-60 Blackhawk unit, Bravo Co. 2-147, the OH-58 Kiowa unit, Charlie Co. 1-376th and support units, the 1204th Aviation Support Battalion and Bravo  Co.,  351st Aviation were all on the ground throughout Southern Indiana providing real-time mission support to all the players involved in the exercise. The aviation units even partnered up with the 138th Signal Company out of Lexington, Ky., to provide actual signal support to all the deployed units, which showcased a great partnership between the major support commands of the Kentucky Guard.
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"This exercise will enable Kentucky aviators to be prepared to respond with great efficiency to a variety of situations," said Ferguson. "Our Guardsmen are one of Kentucky's finest assets."

New York National Guard tests Homeland Response Force with exercise

By Master Sgt. Corine Lombardo, New York National Guard

VALHALLA, N.Y. (8/12/13) - Nearly 600 National Guard Soldiers and Airmen from New York and New Jersey joined forces to exercise techniques they would implement when called to assist first responders and health officials.

It was a simulated catastrophe, but it was taken seriously by the roughly 400 National Guard Soldiers and Airmen from New York and New Jersey who converged at the Westchester County Division of Emergency Services Fire Training Center to conduct Homeland Response Force training exercise, Aug. 8-11.

Their task is to detect, identify, assess and render-safe an area exposed to hazardous materials and decontaminate people and property exposed to chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear (CBRN) materials resulting from an attack or incident.

The Homeland Response Force or HRF consists of nearly 600 Soldiers and Airmen of the National Guard with expertise in search and extraction of disaster victims, incident site security, decontamination, medical treatment and command and control.

"The scenario is a train derailment with a chemical spill, but regardless of the type of incident, our team is ready to step in and assist local responders," said Maj. Fred McCoy, the New York National Guard's CBRN deputy commander.

Past scenarios for training the emergency responders have included earthquakes, truck chemical spills and terrorist attacks on buildings.

The individual scenario may vary but the skills the team's Soldiers and Airmen use remain the same, McCoy said.

Each element of the team goes through specialized training and conducts individual training exercises throughout the year. According to McCoy, the HRF exercise enabled all components of the team to come together and practice as one entity.

The exercise was designed to foster increased dialogue between regional first responders and other state and federal response agencies.

For members of the1156th Engineer Company, located in Kingston, N.Y., the exercise gave them an opportunity to exchange techniques and procedures for extracting and evacuating casualties with Westchester County firefighters, McCoy said.

"During a real incident it's likely we will be working side-by-side with local responders, so learning how they operate is as important as practicing what we do," McCoy said.

Additional members of the HRF include:

• The 104th Military Police Battalion Headquarters based in Kingston, who provide command of the CBRN response elements at the incident site;
• A decontamination element from the 222nd Chemical Company, based at Fort Hamilton, N.Y., who are augmented by volunteer members of the New York Guard's 88th Brigade, based primarily in New York City;
• And Medical personnel from various New York Air National Guard
  units which handle the triage and transfer of casualties for civilian medical treatment.

The New Jersey National Guard's 328th Military Police Company from Cherry Hill, N.J., the 253rd Transportation Company from Cape May Court House, N.J., the 108th Air Refueling Wing from Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J. and the 177th Fighter Wing from Egg Harbor Township, N.J. provided the security forces for the Homeland Response Force.

Another 200 soldiers from the 42nd Infantry Division Headquarters, based in Troy, N.Y., handle mission command and logistics tasks for the force.

During the Aug. 8-11 exercise, they set up a command post at the nearby  New York National Guard's Camp Smith Training Site in Cortlandt Manor.

The HRF is aligned with Region II of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, supporting efforts in New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The unit provides governors with a response capability to assist civilian first responders in saving lives and mitigating suffering in response to a chemical, radiological or biological incident.

"Training our soldiers and first responders before a disaster strikes is a top priority when it comes to keeping New Yorkers safe," Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said.

"Recent years have shown us the need to prepare for the unthinkable or unlikely, and exercises like this are an important step toward building a world-class emergency response network that is ready for any crisis," Cuomo added.

The National Guard-sourced HRF is one of 10 units established by the Department of Defense to assist or relieve state officials and local first responders in dealing with CBRN attacks and incidents across the United States.

The team trains under Defense Department guidelines to respond within a 6-12 hour window to local authorities after a CBRNE or other hazardous materials incident requiring assistance from federal military resources.

Michigan National Guard conducts nuclear response training

By Staff Sgt. Helen Miller
46th Military Police Command

 

Soldiers of Task Force 46 and the 126 Press Camp Headquarters, Michigan Army National Guard, are participating in Exercise Vibrant Response 2013 at Camp Atterbury, Ind. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Helen Miller, Michigan Army National Guard)

 

CAMP ATTERBURY, Ind. (8/2/2013) - Soldiers of Task Force 46 and the 126 Press Camp Headquarters, Michigan Army National Guard, are participating in Exercise Vibrant Response 2013 at Camp Atterbury, Ind.

Vibrant Response is a training exercise that rigorously tests the planning, logistical, operational and other states of readiness of the Michigan Army National Guard and other National Guard units that may respond in the event of a chemical, biological, nuclear or radiological event within the continental United States.

"It is truly an honor and privilege for the Michigan Army National Guard to be selected to participate in Exercise Vibrant Response," said Brig. Gen. Burton Francisco, Commander of Task Force 46. "This is an important training exercise which will help ensure that the Michigan Army National Guard and other intergovernmental agencies are able to provide effective and timely support to civil authorities in the event of a chemical, nuclear, biological or radiological attack anywhere in the United States."

Task Force 46, the 126 PCH and other soldiers from the Michigan Army National Guard arrived at Camp Atterbury on July 30, 2013, and will complete their participation in Vibrant Response in early August.

US to Move Missile Defenses to Guam

US Army THAAD System Missile Launch (Photo courtesy of DoD)

 

According to a published BBC Asia report the U.S. is sending a missile shield to the Pacific island of Guam as North Korea threatens nuclear strikes. The Pentagon said the shield would be ready within weeks, adding to warships that were sent to the area earlier.

The North had named Guam among a list of possible targets for attack that included Hawaii and the US mainland. North Korea is not thought to have the technology to strike the US mainland with either a nuclear weapon or a ballistic missile, analysts say. But it is capable of targeting US military bases in the region with its mid-range missiles.

The US Department of Defense said on Wednesday it would deploy the ballistic Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System (Thaad) to Guam in the coming weeks. The Thaad system includes a truck-mounted launcher and interceptor missiles. The Pentagon said the deployment would "strengthen our regional defence posture against the North Korean regional ballistic missile threat".
The US floated plans to send a Thaad system to Guam in 2009, but never followed through.

US officials recently also announced that the USS John McCain, a destroyer capable of intercepting missiles, had been positioned off the Korean peninsula.

Capital Shield Exercise preps D.C. National Guard for Inauguration

D.C. National Guard members recently participated in training with other agencies to help protect the nation’s capital. (Photo by Sgt. Jesse Searls, D.C. National Guard)

By Sgt. Jesse Searls, District of Columbia National Guard

The District of Columbia National Guard participated in the 2012 Capital Shield Exercise, a training event which emphasizes unity of effort for district and federal agencies operating in the District of Columbia in preparation for events such as the upcoming inauguration.

The D.C. Army National Guard’s 33rd CST, together with the Massachusetts National Guard’s 1st CST, set up their equipment for a section of the training conducted in Southeast Washington.
The western campus of St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, which opened in 1855 as the “Government Hospital for the Insane,” is situated in southeast D.C., south and across the Anacostia River from the D.C. National Guard Armory. The rich and storied history of the institution is palpable as the National Guard members conducted a training scenario based on a possible chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear threat.

The mission of the D.C.ARNG’s 33rd CST is one of paramount importance: made up of 22 highly trained hazmat technicians, it is capable of responding to various untold levels of natural or man-made disasters that could threaten the public safety in the District of Columbia. Training exercises like Capital Shield prepare the soldiers to work with and assist several agencies and departments.
The 33rd works closely with the D.C. Fire Department, Metropolitan Police Department, D.C. Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency, D.C. Department of Health, and the FBI in a combined effort to protect the public in the event of a weapons of mass destruction attack on our nation’s capital.

Among the training area is a vast array of shuttered, three-story brick buildings. The campus covers more than 100 acres. It’s closed to the public with fencing and gate guards and is confusing to drive around with its tight, twisting roads, adding up to an excellent environment for precise and professional training to take place.

During Capital Shield Exercise at S The 33rd Civil Support Team, District of Columbia National Guard, participates in the 2012 Capital Shield Exercise. (Photo by Sgt. Jesse Searls, D.C. National Guard)t. Elizabeth’s, Sgt. Tanisha Mercado, having just finished an exercise in a heavy, air-tight chemical suit with its own oxygen container, talked about the training that day.

“Staff Sgt. Jason McGuire and I were tasked with performing surveying and recon around a trailer.” Mercado said, as she pointed to a large conex container sitting conspicuously among the historic buildings of St Elizabeth’s. “We took a grab sample, which is when the entire package, container, envelope, or in this case, a propane tank is taken into the lab. Our grab sample turned out to be an improvised dispersal device.”

The 33rd CST has completed two large-scale exercises this year in anticipation of the 2013 Presidential Inauguration to be held Monday, Jan. 21.

I’m proud of the hard work they put in every day,” said 33rd CST’s First Sergeant and senior non-commissioned officer, 1st Sgt. Charles Mick. “We’re ready for anything.”

National Guard units in Southeast on alert for Isaac's impact

By Sgt. 1st Class Jon Soucy, National Guard Bureau

ARLINGTON, Va. - Army and Air National Guard elements throughout the southeastern United States are preparing for Tropical Storm Isaac, which is making its way past the Florida Keys and into the Gulf of Mexico.

Officials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predict that as the storm moves through the Gulf it will grow to hurricane strength by the time it makes landfall on the northern Gulf coast sometime Tuesday.

In Florida, Gov. Rick Scott has declared a state of emergency and has activated 30 National Guard personnel. About 5,800 personnel are available in Florida if needed.

A state of emergency has also been declared by the governors of Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama in advance of the storm. There are approximately 10 Alabama National Guard personnel that have been activated with another 70 Soldiers and Airmen set to be called up for a state mission today.

In Mississippi, Army Maj. Gen. Augustus L. Collins, the adjutant general of the Mississippi National Guard, has called approximately 1,500 Guard personnel to state active duty in support of emergency operations in anticipation of Isaac’s landfall on or near the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Soldiers and Airmen will begin arriving today in the coastal counties preparing to support security operations, search and rescue, debris removal and water and ice distribution.

The Louisiana National Guard has called up on state active duty orders approximately 4100 Soldiers and Airmen in preparation of the storm making landfall.

In Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Kentucky and Tennessee officials have identified National Guard units that may be needed. Those Soldiers and Airmen are on a heightened state of awareness.

Meanwhile, the Puerto Rico Army National Guard had approximately 50 Soldiers from the 190th Engineer Battalion on duty in response to the storm. Generator repair technicians from the unit repaired four generators at a nearby fire station.

And at the National Guard Bureau elements have been on duty monitoring the storm.

"The National Guard Bureau's Crisis Management Element has been alerted to work 24/7 to assist affected states in positioning people and equipment to facilitate the most effective response to the storm," National Guard Bureau officials said.