{"id":256723,"date":"2024-08-16T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-08-16T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=256723"},"modified":"2024-08-17T09:19:52","modified_gmt":"2024-08-17T09:19:52","slug":"oklahoma-army-guard-artillerymen-tested-at-northern-strike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=256723","title":{"rendered":"Oklahoma Army Guard Artillerymen Tested at Northern Strike"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n
\n <\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n
\n <\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n
\n <\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n <\/span>

\n 1 \/ 2<\/span>
\n
\n Show Caption +<\/span>
\n Hide Caption \u2013<\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n
\n
\n Command Sgt. Maj. John Hernandez, right foreground, state command sergeant major for Oklahoma, Oklahoma National Guard, and Command Sgt. Maj. William Russell III, left, senior enlisted leader for the adjutant general, Michigan National Guard, speak with members of the British Armed Forces during Exercise Northern Strike 2024 at Camp Grayling, Michigan, Aug. 12, 2024. (Oklahoma National Guard photo by Cpl. Danielle Rayon)
\n (Photo Credit: Cpl. Danielle Rayon)<\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n VIEW ORIGINAL<\/a>
\n <\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n \"Oklahoma
\n <\/a>
\n
\n <\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n
\n <\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n 2 \/ 2<\/span>
\n
\n Show Caption +<\/span>
\n Hide Caption \u2013<\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n
\n
\n Oklahoma Army National Guard Spc. Michael Champion, a combat medic assigned to headquarters battery, 1st Battalion, 160th Field Artillery Regiment, 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, hooks a cargo load of ammo to a UH-60 Black Hawk during emergency airlift resupply training at Exercise Northern Strike 2024, Camp Grayling, Michigan, Aug. 11, 2024. (Oklahoma National Guard photo by Cpl. Danielle Rayon)
\n (Photo Credit: Cpl. Danielle Rayon)<\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n VIEW ORIGINAL<\/a>
\n <\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

GRAYLING, Mich. \u2013 Artillerymen with the Oklahoma Army National Guard\u2019s 1st Battalion, 160th Field Artillery Regiment, 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, tested their mettle at Northern Strike 2024 at Camp Grayling Aug. 3-17.<\/p>\n

The annual event is a National Guard Bureau-sponsored exercise that brings together units from multiple states and partner countries. It enhances joint and combined warfighting capabilities in a multi-domain environment.<\/p>\n

Members of the 1-160th FA played a key role in this year\u2019s exercise, conducting critical training to hone their speed and accuracy on the M199 105 mm howitzer and M777 towed 155 mm howitzer. The regiment executed near-constant fire missions, sending over 3,400 rounds downrange throughout the exercise.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese readiness exercises are crucial and vital to our success and readiness in order to provide direct support (and) build artillery to the 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team in any type of environment, anywhere in the world,\u201d said Lt. Col. Brent Hill, battalion commander for the 1-160 FA.<\/p>\n

NS 24-2 also allows U.S. military units from all branches to work with international partners. The 1-160th FA trained alongside the British Armed Forces.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a collaboration of different forces, whether it be different regiments or different countries, to see how they can work together on different exercises for future reference,\u201d said Gnr. Alex Bell, assigned to 212nd Battery, 105th Regiment, Royal Artillery, British Army. \u201cIf we were to ever be deployed together, we can see that we can work together as a single unit. We\u2019d be able to integrate really well. It builds relationships between the different countries and the different units.\u201d<\/p>\n

Artillerymen from both countries found many similarities in their operations, with only a small communication obstacle to overcome.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the guys that\u2019s come up with us, he\u2019s from Northern Ireland, so he\u2019s got a very broad Irish accent and he\u2019s actually had to slow himself down a little bit just so people can understand him a little better,\u201d Bell said. \u201cIt\u2019s about learning the different relationships between the different countries and different forces, and we\u2019ve kind of been practicing each other\u2019s words and phrases, which has been a lot of fun, actually.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oklahoma Guardsmen said troops from both countries worked smoothly and efficiently together, each learning and improving techniques from the other.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s been fantastic,\u201d said Staff Sgt. Justin Zacharias, a cannon crewmember assigned to Bravo Battery, 1-160th FA. \u201cThese guys have been working super hard for us. As soon as they came in, they melted right in. Really and truly, they\u2019ve been awesome for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

These joint and multinational training exercises enable the OKNG\u2019s junior leaders to flex their leadership skills in a simulated, large-scale combat environment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve seen a lot of crew chiefs really going the extra mile to train their crews,\u201d Hill said. \u201cLeadership at the lowest level is what we have to have. That\u2019s why the NCO\u2019s are an absolute integral part, an important part of the Army \u2014 they are the backbone, and we showed that here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Exercises like Northern Strike ensure that the Oklahoma National Guard remains a trained and ready force.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn this exercise, we have a little bit more urgency to stay tactical, make sure we\u2019re joint, try to stay pretty light on the ground, having quickness and getting data and delivering rounds down range,\u201d Zacharias said. \u201cIt\u2019s about getting proficient with the shooting. We stay safe while we\u2019re making other people safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Through the challenges and opportunities of NS 24-2, Oklahoma artillerymen gained critical real-world experience in combat operations while working alongside allied partners to build and maintain a ready force for today\u2019s battlefield.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think our Soldiers take away a lot of leadership experience,\u201d Hill said. \u201cThey got a lot of sets of reps. They built their confidence and we were able to come through and successfully complete the mission here at Camp Grayling.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more National Guard news<\/a><\/p>\n

National Guard Facebook<\/a><\/p>\n

National Guard X<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1 \/ 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption \u2013 Command Sgt. Maj. John Hernandez, right foreground, state command sergeant major for Oklahoma, Oklahoma National Guard, and Command Sgt. Maj. William Russell III, left, senior enlisted leader for the adjutant general, Michigan National Guard, speak with members of the British Armed Forces during Exercise Northern Strike […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":256725,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-256723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256723","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=256723"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256723\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":256728,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256723\/revisions\/256728"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/256725"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=256723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=256723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=256723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}