[MilCom] Avon Park's Atlantic Strike IV Exercise explained

[AllanStern at aol.com]

Here is a wonderful article about the "Atlantic Strike IV" exercise going  on 
now at Avon Park Bombing Range.  This is the fourth Atlantic  Strike we have 
been able to listen to. A significant thing is that "JTACs,  returning from 
OIF and OEF, also helped plan scenarios."  That is why the  action is so 
realistic.
 
You can go to the following site and view pictures of the action on the  
ground at Avon Park taken during this exercise:
 
http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123029824
 
Thank you to Mark (AMTRAK) for pointing out this article to me.
 
AL STERN  Satellite Beach FL
"Atlantic Strike provides joint training for interdependent  warfighters"
by Staff Sgt Shad Eidson, Air Force Print News
 
10/24/2006 - AVON PARK, FL (AFPN) -- Airmen, Marines, Soldiers and Sailors  
started joint training for air and ground operations as part of Atlantic Strike 
 IV at Avon Park Air Force Range, FL, Oct 23. 
 
The US Central Command Air Forces bi-annual training event takes place on  
the 106,000-acre bomb range in south central Florida to better prepare aircrews  
and Air Force joint tactical air controller for deployments through realistic 
 urban close-air support training. 
 
"Atlantic Strike provides training for joint forces at the tactical level,"  
said Maj Raymond Brennan, director, Atlantic Strike IV. "It's the most 
realistic  training environment we can provide in the states to prepare them for  
deployments." 
 
Atlantic Strike IV involves 700 servicemembers throughout four days -- more  
than double the number of participants in April's Atlantic Strike. This is the 
 first Atlantic Strike to include helicopter airframes for close-air support  
training. The long loiter times of rotor-wing aircraft is a force multiplier, 
 boosting intelligence gathering for JTACs before they call in an air strike 
on a  hostile target. 
 
The planners used operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom mission  
reports to create combat scenarios to mirror current threats, including  
improvised explosive devices, mortar, ambush and sniper attacks.
 
JTACs, returning from OIF and OEF, also helped plan scenarios.
 
The use of personal experience to develop tactics, techniques and  procedures 
to increase battlefield effectiveness is seen as a great asset, said  Major 
Brennan, who uses his own experience as the Atlantic Strike III assistant  
director running the fourth Atlantic Strike training event. 
 
One way that Atlantic Strike helps JTACs gain experience is by integrating  
the Remote Operated Video Enhanced Receiver system into the training. The 
system  uses multiple sources, including targeting pods on MQ-1 Predators, F-16 
Fighting  Falcons, and Marine Cobra helicopters to pull live images onto a laptop 
on the  ground. 
 
"Atlantic Strike is the only training opportunity for JTACs to use ROVER  
outside of the combat environment," Major Brennan said. 
 
"What has been lacking is the ability to train with the equipment in the  
states before troops deploy," the major said. "We're able to provide training  
for these troops with equipment and joint services here before they get over  
in-theater so they don't have to learn on the fly." 
 
In an urban environment with ROVER, Soldiers can see everything that is  
going on around them and not just what is in front of them, said Staff Sgt.  
Michael McKenna, a JTAC with the 19th Air Support Operations Squadron out of  Fort 
Campbell, Ky. 
 
"You can increase their situational awareness so they can actually take  
actions to achieve an objective rather than have to react to situation," he  said. 
 
Planners are continually adding capabilities to the training event and  
currently are incorporating Army joint fire observers into the JTAC training  
teams, Major Brennan said. Since the JFO is a new position within the Army, the  
training is here is hitting the ground running. 
 
"We are the leading venue to try and coordinate that training with JTAC and  
JFOs for air to ground coordination," he said. 
 
"Working together is instrumental in winning the global war. Each service  
brings something different to the fight," said Navy Lt. Gregory Harkrider, who  
is overseeing P-3 Orion aircrews training on the aircraft's video download  
capabilities. 
 
"I think we don't do enough of this (training)," said the exercise officer,  
assigned to the Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing 11 at Naval Air Station  
Jacksonville. "Practice makes perfect. The guys are better trained and it's  going to
 save lives and that is the bottom line."