LANSING, Mich. -- Army Soldiers -- from commanders on down to privates -- are making use of new capabilties during their annual training at Camp Grayling, Michigan, during the joint force exercise Northern Strike 17.
"It's a huge learning curve for a young platoon leader, even the guys on the ground to understand what those capabilities are," said Capt. Ryan Kimball, Charlie Company Commander of 3-126th Infantry Regiment located in Dowagiac, Michigan.
Kimball, who has been in the military for more than 20 years, has seen how these advancements are changing the infantry Soldier's life. One change is the ability to call in air support when needed.
"Air support is critical, anytime you're in combat, a real situation or training; you get into a firefight it's extremely valuable," said Kimball, who lives in Allendale, Michigan. "In the U.S. we have the best Air Force in the world, that's one of our biggest strengths, we can pretty much knock out anything with the air. If you bring in an air asset like that, and you're in the middle of a firefight, you're going to win no matter what, so that just helps us to be more efficient."
The opportunity to bring in the Air Force assets is possible during the exercise, where approximately 5,000 Army, Air Force, Marine, and Special Forces service members from 20 states and three coalition countries are participating. The exercise strives to provide accessible, readiness-building opportunities for military units from all service branches to achieve and sustain proficiency in conducting mission command, air, sea, and ground maneuver integration.
"This is actually quite an extraordinary training opportunity for everybody especially for the new guys coming in, this bringing everyone together," said Kimball.
"It's reassuring being on the front line knowing that someone has our back, that every decision we make on the battlefield is being supported higher up," said Spc. Cameron Brauer, a grenadier with 3rd Squad, 1st Platoon, Charlie Company.
Not only are the squads being supported by air, but also on the ground. They are now making use of a remote control Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) that will go in before the Soldiers and do the scouting for them.
"That's awesome, I think the use of technology in modern warfare is beneficial to the foot Soldier," said Brauer, a resident of Farmington Hills, Michigan. "Knowing that there's a security line in front of them and there's less front line risk, as if it were me crossing first."
The APC is controlled by civilians, who were at the exercise demonstrating the capabilities of the machine and how it can help the Soldiers.
"I think it's great to integrate civilian and military in order to create a better understanding and bridge the gap between the two in order to bring more technology into the military aspect," said Brauer. "As a united force we can come together and neutralize a hostile target in a civilized fashion."
"I know that Northern Strike is a huge operation in itself and we are just a small puzzle piece of all of that," added Staff Sgt. Jacob Schrot, squad leader for 1st Platoon.
Schrot, who is from Grand Rapids, Michigan, is thankful for the training that will come in handy when actually conducting overseas missions.
"We've done Northern Strike for the last few years and this already seems to be more involved than in the past," said Schrot. "I've never had training like this in my life up until now."
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