FORT SILL, Okla. (Feb. 12, 2024) — Canada bombed the U.S. Feb. 9, 2024 – but there was no war as the training jets didn’t actually have bombs and were controlled by American and Canadian Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTACs).
In a training exercise held at Falcon Range Feb. 5-9, Fort Sill provided a training liaison from Air Force Det. 1, 6th Combat Training Squadron to assist with initial training and qualification of members of the Canadian Armed Forces in the JTAC field.
During the exercise, members of the Canadian Armed Forces were able to hone and build on foundational skills required to obtain the JTAC qualification.
"The JTAC world is very small, so it is always good to meet other JTACs and exercise together to share best practices and apply operational lessons learned,” said a member of the Canadian Armed Forces taking part in the training.
Tech Sgt. Robert Oury, a JTAC instructor at Fort Sill, echoed this sentiment.
"This training provides a unique opportunity for two allied NATO members to bring together JTAC professionals from both the Canadian Armed Forces and USAF Special Warfare, as well as student pilots from Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program to exchange best practices while training the next generation of warfighters to operate in Large Scale Combat Operations," he said. "This exercise really does showcase the importance of Fort Sill as a nexus for Joint and Allied training."
Fort Sill, home to the Army's Fires Center of Excellence, increasingly emphasizes integrating multi-branch and multi-national Fires. As part of that commitment to multi-branch Fires is 1st Detachment, 6th CTS – a small detachment of Airmen, including Oury, stationed at Fort Sill to assist the U.S. Army Field Artillery School with the training of U.S. Army Joint Fires Observers.
The Detachment assists with a variety of other training exercises at Fort Sill’s Falcon Range, near Indiahoma, Oklahoma’s. The range's mission is to support tactical airpower training for all American forces and Euro-NATO nations, including the Canadian Armed Forces. Falcon Range, originally acquired by the Army in 1947, is now part of the 301st Fighter Wing of the Air Force Reserves, based in Fort Worth, Texas.
The joint forces training at Falcon Range epitomizes Fort Sill's commitment to fostering collaboration and innovation in the realm of joint fires integration, ensuring that allied forces remain prepared and adaptable in an ever-changing global security landscape.
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