Joint, coalition forces work together during largest exercise of year

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Akeba Lawrence
  • 86th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
HOHENFELS TRAINING AREAS, Germany --  The 2nd Air Support Operations Squadron, attached to the 435th Air Ground Operations Wing, Ramstein Air Base Germany, participated in a large-scale joint multinational readiness exercise called Saber Junction 2012 from Sept. 30 to Oct. 30.

The main goal of the exercise was to practice Army integration and honing skills for unified force-on-force land and counterinsurgency operations.

"The most valued experience here is integrating with [the Army] before going into deployed operations," said 1st Lt. Marshall Wills, 2ASOS joint tactical air controller.

The 2ASOS supplied 23 Joint Terminal Air Controllers and one radio maintainer to support the joint training.

The 2ASOS supported the 2nd Calvary Regiment by advising and assisting the integration of airpower into their ground maneuvers with controlled air strikes. The mission of the 2ASOS is to provide superior U.S. Air Force tactical air control party liaison and control to the 2d Stryker Cavalry Regiment.

JTACs assist in mission planning through the integration of close combat power air support aircraft and surface fires, and by providing support to ground scheme combat maneuver units on today's battlefield around the world.

Airmen 1st class Aaron Corrales and Travis Lowe, 2ASOS TACPs, who had been assigned to the squadron for about six months, were also involved in the training. This was their first major exercise with the Army.

"This has been a challenge," said Corrales. "We've been learning how to interact with the Army and getting out of our comfort zone."

The JMRX is hosted by the U.S. Army Europe's Joint Multinational Training Command and Joint Multinational Readiness Center at Grafenwoehr and Hohenfels Training Areas, Germany. It is the only U.S. Army overseas combat training facility.

Exercises such as this, highlight the decisive action training environment rotation with multinational forces to gain a wider perspective. It is designed to prepare coalition forces through a combination of offensive, defensive and stability operations appropriate to the mission and the environment.

Saber Junction 2012 is a large-scale, joint, multinational, military exercise involving approximately 1,700 Army and Air Force personnel, and 18 coalition forces. It is the largest exercise that U.S. Army Europe has conducted over the span of the past 20 years.

The coordination between the Army, Air Force, international and host nation partners benefitted personnel in valuable preparation and partnerships.

"Main learning point is that...we're out of practice. We've had to relearn a lot of things," said Maj. Justin Dupuis, 2ASOS air liaison officer, who played the role of brigade ALO in the tactical operations center during the exercise. "We learned a lot of things we had to improve...we learned stuff on our own that will make us leaps and bounds prepared for something like this in the future."

This year's training involved hundreds of military aircraft and vehicles which included: PC-9s from Slovenia and Switzerland; F-16 Falcons from Spangdahlem, Germany, L-39s from U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Czech Republic; main battle tanks; infantry fighting vehicles; and stryker combat vehicles.

"This is the first time I'm dealing with tanks and real combat air defenses," said Airman First Class Michael Tagariello, 2ASOS TACP, who had just finished calling in A-10 Thunderbolt IIs from Spangdahlem for support. "It's a lot different than looking at the odd truck or a couple of people shouting at you."

(Editor's Note: 2nd Lt. Kay Nissen, 86th Airlift Wing Public Affairs, contributed to this article)