JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. -- Members of the 113th Wing, D.C. Air National Guard, recently had a chance to demonstrate their mission readiness during Northern Strike 2024. The National Guard Bureau exercise is joint accredited and is a tailorable, scalable and cost-effective readiness event spanning Michigan’s Northern Lower Peninsula.
Fighter pilots from the 121st Fighter Squadron, 113th Wing, flew F-16s from Joint Base Andrews to Michigan each day to execute Cruise Missile Defense and Maritime strike missions. With Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radars, 3 radios, and color targeting pods, the DCANG jets are uniquely equipped to detect, ID, track and engage threats. The Fighter Squadron demonstrated the same tactics that were successful earlier this year in U.S. Central Command, where the squadron was responsible for dozens of air-to-air kills over the Red Sea and Iraq.
U.S. Air Force Maj. Nicholas Laviano, commander, 113th Operations Support Squadron, said that while the 113th Wing does not normally participate in Northern Strike, they were heavily involved in the planning of the missions.
“The directors of Northern Strike reached out to the 113th (Wing) based on our history of being leaders in the mission sets that were being expected,” Laviano said. “Once the 113th agreed to participate, they sought out our members who could help operate the airfield and support all of the different types of aircraft that would be executing the mission out of Alpena, MI.”
The exercise promotes the Chief of the National Guard Bureau’s Interoperability objective to highlight training and exercises where units work with joint and civilian partners. DCANG members can train in geographical different locations, along with multiple service components, while maintaining the same proficiency they would at home station.
There were multiple highlights for the exercise including longer duration flights and air to air refueling, which are more representative of combat operations. Missions were executed with realistic and challenging command and control.
“Exercises such as this greatly increase the Air National Guard’s combat capability. It gives units the opportunity to train with fellow services, away from their home stations, against threat simulations that we don’t get to see often,” Laviano said. “While there is no way to replicate a deployment, this training gets all participants out of their comfort zones and ensures that our forces are ready to execute these unique missions should a real-world scenario arise.”