MINNESOTA Minnesota, Norway partner for 50th troop exchange
MISSISSIPPI
By Army Staff Sgt. Bill Boecker, Senior Master Sgt. Glen Flanagan, Air Force Capt. Ellen McNair
and Sgt. 1st Class Ben Houtkooper Minnesota National Guard Public Affairs | FEB. 23, 2023
TRØNDELAG, Norway - More than 100 Minnesota National Guard Airmen and Soldiers partnered with the Heimevernet, the Norwe- gian Home Guard, for two weeks of winter warfare training during the 50th U.S./Norway Reciprocal Troop Exchange Feb. 2-16. More commonly known as NOREX, the exchange is the Defense Department’s longest-running troop exchange. The Minnesota Guard and Norway are also partners as part of the Department of Defense National Guard Bureau State Partnership Program. “When I was selected to attend NOREX, I had two goals,” said Air Force Master Sgt. Megan Shaner of the 148th Fighter Wing. “First, to see the beautiful land and culture of Norway — it has been a life- long dream to visit the land my family came from. Second, to build lasting friendships with our Norwegian Home Guard partners and strengthen the connection between Minnesota and Norway.” Before deploying for a field exercise deep in the Norwegian mountains, the Home Guard trainers spent two days preparing the Minnesota National Guard members for the harsh conditions. Shedding their American uniforms after being issued Norwegian uniforms, the Minnesotans quickly learned of the efficiency of it in cold conditions. They also learned how to use Norwegian tents, stoves, skis and other equipment.
Day Two provided new challenges as the Airmen and Soldiers learned skijoring, avalanche rescue training, and survival training from their Norwegian counterparts before building a bonfire for their first hot meal of the field exercise, hot dogs. Day Three allowed for one of the most memorable experiences of the entire exercise. As the Minnesotans packed up their first camp and ventured further up the mountains, another aspect of survival training greeted them at the halfway point: cold water rescue training.
Mississippi Air refueling wing practices rapid response
Lt. Col. James Hamrick, 186th ARW Wing inspector general, ex- plained that “capabilities not tested can’t be trusted.”
The event prepared the Airmen and Soldiers for their reaction if they were to fall through the ice during military missions.
“These simulations allow our Airmen to train in a real-world envi- ronment so when they are in a deployed location, they can rely on their skills and training to accomplish the mission,” said Hamrick. The wing inspection team evaluated Airmen on their ability to defend the base, conduct maintenance on aircraft, find and rescue downed Airmen, and perform duties while wearing Mission Orient- ed Protective Posture gear. “The men and women of Key Field are to be commended for their high level of professionalism and dedication during the LRE,” said Threatt. “We had many different functional areas such as medical, services, civil engineering, security forces, operations, headquar- ters staff, maintenance, and logistics come together and make the weekend a success.” The 186th Air Refueling Wing provides over 1,100 personnel and eight KC-135R aircraft to Air Mobility Command for worldwide op- erations. The wing also supports domestic counter-drug and emer- gency response missions and overseas combatant commander requirements with an RC-26B aircraft. Additional units at Key Field include the 238th Air Support Operations Squadron, the 248th Air Traffic Control Squadron, and the 186th Air Operations Group.
Back in warm and dry clothes, the contingent finished their ski trek to their second field location and repeated the same setup routines as Day One. Day Four brought severe weather that threatened the ability of the Norwegians to teach Minnesotans the art of digging snow caves into the side of mountains for shelter. The Airmen and Soldiers switched their focus to building up snow walls surrounding each tent to sustain severe overnight weather.
By Senior Airman Alexandria Fulton 186th Air Refueling Wing | MARCH 6, 2023
KEY FIELD AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Miss. - The 186th Air Refuel- ing Wing conducted a large-scale readiness exercise Feb. 28-March 3 at the Combat Readiness Training Center in Gulfport.
The exercise allowed Airmen to demonstrate their ability to operate in a contested, degraded and operationally limited environment.
In the field
Before 45 mph wind gusts arrived, the platoons came together to enjoy a Norwegian delicacy, reindeer stew.
Traveling several hours deep into the mountains marked the beginning of a five-day field training exercise that tested the Guard members’ newly acquired skills. The platoons split into tent teams of eight — seven Americans and one Norwegian Home Guard trainer. The groups relied on each other for survival. After skiing 3 kilometers from the drop-off location in Haltdalen, the teams arrived at their first field location and set up tents, built snow walls to break gusting winds, and created bathroom loca- tions. The tents became temporary homes where the inhabitants shared Norwegian field rations, slept in tight quarters for warmth, and shared stories of the day’s accomplishments.
“It’s important to know our strengths and weaknesses to ensure we are always mission ready no matter the environment,” said Lt. Col. Vaughn Threatt, the Emergency Operations Center director who led the exercise.
As a windy night gave way to morning, the last day of field training arrived and the Americans put their downhill skiing to the test to descend the mountains.
American meal
Each section underwent various simulated threats to evaluate their ability to deploy quickly.
When the troops and their instructors emerged from the field, traveling back to the ocean coast, they were welcomed by faces familiar to Minnesota service members. Volunteers from the Saint Paul-based civic organization Serving Our Troops had arrived, pre- paring a welcome treat — a steak dinner with all the fixings.
Air Mobility Command and wing inspection team inspectors as- sessed the Airmen responding to scenario injects.
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