PA lands in Alaska for Exercise Northern Edge

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Darrell Habisch
  • 934th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
Elmendorf AFB, Alaska --  Marine Staff Sgts. Zachary Dyer and Andrew Miller contributed to this story

In the Pacific Command's theater of operation, uncertainty is certain. To prepare for any flavor of calamity, PACOM prepares its personnel and assets through a series of large and small exercises. Some scenarios may include an earthquake in Alaska while a tsunami strikes Hawaii. Or a powerful Asian-Pacific country unleashes its massive military upon a neighbor with the intent of assimilating its landmass and citizens. Is the United States military capable of responding to a surprise attack or large-scale natural disaster? Are the military services prepared, at a moment's notice, to defend our allies or to work with civilian authorities, much less each other? 

To answer these and many other questions, Exercise Northern Edge '09 launched June 15 and ran through June 26, attracting more than 9,000 active-duty, reserve and guard personnel, hundreds of aircraft flying over the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex and one aircraft carrier operating in the Gulf of Alaska. Northern Edge had about 120,000 square miles to train in, according to Air Force Lt. Gen. Dana T. Atkins, Alaskan Command and 11th Air Force commander. A 'come as you are' exercise, Northern Edge '09 was designed to stress the combined forces of the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and Army, including numerous reserve and Guard personnel and assets. Northern Edge was truly a Total Force effort as thousands of active duty, reserve and Guard airmen, sailors, marines and soldiers flocked to Alaska. 

Preparations for one of DoD's premier exercises began almost a year before by a committee of more than twenty exercise planners. In a nod to Total Force, I was asked to be a Public Affairs planner for the exercise. My responsibilities included increased noise out-reach efforts through the media, speaking to various tribal elders and councils throughout Alaska and screening more than twenty active duty, Guard and reserve Public Affairs specialists to participate in Northern Edge. This means that what the average Alaskan heard on the radio and saw on television about the increase in jet noise, possibility of sonic booms and the influx of personnel came from an Air Force reservist representing all the services. I was also responsible for office continuity and productivity as one active duty public affairs officer left and another reported. This was truly an excellent example of how the Reserve becomes the glue that keeps high tempo operations running smoothly. It wasn't until the exercise was winding down that I realized, after four months, that at least one third of the planning committee were Guard and reserve members from all services. 

These members were responsible for coordinating all aspects of the exercise, such as Live-Virtual-Constructive scenarios which allowed players located across nine time zones to participate via flight simulators. Training sessions took on a size and sphere that would have been logistically impossible otherwise, according to Atkins.
The committee also oversaw the other routine but labor intensive requirements of an exercise of this size, including bedding down thousands of players, transportation, food, security clearances and eliminating as much 'service-specific' language as possible. Learning about each other, and the way the varying services operate is very important according to Air Force Maj. Lyle Dawley, Northern Edge exercise control team chief. 
"Communication can be a big challenge," he said. "We don't always speak the same language whether we are on the ground or in the air."  

The exercise was heavily focused on air operations, with aircrews participating in defensive air operations, close air support, air interdiction of maritime targets and personnel recovery missions. Missions also included ground and maritime operations, incorporating a Navy SEAL team and the USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) aircraft carrier into the training. 

"These are perishable skills that the military tries to keep current on," said Jeff Fee, the exercise director for Northern Edge. "There's a refresh rate that all these people need to keep practicing at. Services tend to train in their own stovepipes, and exercises like Northern Edge give them the opportunity to get out and train the way they would fight in the real world -- together."  

In the end, a large part of the U.S. military forces in the Pacific Command theater walked away with valuable joint training experience under their belts, according to Fee. 

"The joint services have gotten to the point where they understand that they are totally reliant on each other's capabilities," said Fee. "So they've decided that training together has become that much more important."
Today's reserve and Guard members not only participate, but provide the expertise to lead the charge to fly, fight and win.