Exercise Southern Fury News Article

This article about the Southern Fury exercise from last week appeared in the "Beafort Gazette." The AH-64s mentioned in the story were in fact from 1-151 AVN at McEntire JNGB rather than from Hunter AAF.

Realistic training exercise helps soldiers prepare for battle
By DAN HILLIARD

Marine Cpl. Richard Arellano has been to Iraq twice, and, each time the conflict's nature has become more intense. Insurgents have developed better bombs and better ways to deploy them; they've learned to freeze mortars over their launch tubes so they can escape before the ice melts and the mortar launches; and they've found a way to fashion bombs disguised as bricks.
Arellano expects to go back next summer as a convoy driver, and said constant training is necessary to stay on top.

To that end, Arellano joined Marine drivers and pilots from Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort in a three-day combat cooperation exercise with representatives from all four military branches last week at Townsend Bombing Range near Ludowici, Ga., about 100 miles from Beaufort.

About 28 drivers from Marine Wing Support Squadron 273 and 80 pilots making up four squadrons worked with nearly 600 Army, Navy and Air Force participants to run a mock convoy through the imaginary hostile town of Georaqi.

Marine F/A-18 fighter jets and Apache helicopters from Hunter Army Airfield circled a five-vehicle convoy of Marines as they made a two-hour, 25-mile trip from the range to a truck turnaround near Ludowici. Navy corpsmen were on hand to deal with medical emergencies.

Along the way, the Marines stopped to investigate potential "threats" -- suspicious vehicles parked on the side of the road and likely ambush points.

When a "threat" was identified, the Marines fanned out, formed a perimeter around the lead Humvee and called for an air strike against the target.

This allowed the Marines, the pilots, the Air National Guard traffic controllers and everyone in between to simulate a live combat situation, said Capt. Dennis Dalton, Marine Aircraft Group 31 commander.

"We're running scenarios that are similar to what they'll see in Afghanistan and Iraq," he said. "This is a No. 1 priority for the Marines in the Anbar province -- support the convoys as much as possible. We take what we learn in the theater and the things that are happening now and apply them in the scenario."

According to air station spokesman Sgt. Rob Sell, about 50 of Squadron 273's 250 personnel are deployed at any one time on a rotating basis. Some personnel returned from a nine-month deployment in April, and they are scheduled to make another late next summer.

Dalton said most of the military personnel training Tuesday have not seen combat.

"Exercises like this help us better prepare for cooperation in combat," he said.

"We're not for any one service here. There are some times when they make mistakes, but that's why we train. You want to make your mistakes here, not in combat."

Because of the evolving nature of the Iraq war, combat simulations have to be run and adapted often, said Lt. Col. Bill Bowers, commanding officer for Squadron 273.

This is the second combat cooperation exercise run this year, he said. The last one was in July, and another is planned for March. A long-term goal is to run a simulation at least once every quarter, he said.

"The tactics are always being refined," he said. "The enemy's tactics, techniques and procedures have to be incorporated into the exercise. The enemy won't usually do just an IED (improvised explosive device). They'll cover it with snipers or an ambush."

Chief Warrant Officer 3 Steve Baker said a new technique is embedding a forward air traffic controller in each convoy to coordinate more precise strikes.

"The opportunities we have right now for these kids on the ground is great," he said.

"To actually hear that guy in your convoy talking to the planes in the air is awesome."

Bowers said he was happy with the exercise overall, though one of the lead Humvees got too far ahead of the convoy due to a faulty map.

"You've got big log trucks blowing by you and traffic lights that can split up the convey. That's a lot of responsibility, and it can short-circuit you," he said. "Plus, when you've got aircraft going overhead at 500 mph, that's even more to consider."

After navigating two convoys safely through Georaqi, the F/A-18 and Apache helicopter pilots took turns dropping dummy bombs on a make-shift town on the bombing range. Their goal was to hit a 6-foot target from 13,000 feet with a 25-pound inert bomb.

Air National Guard traffic controller Maj. Stuart Strickland said emphasis in the exercise again was on effective communication and cooperation. Strickland and his crew are a part of the Savannah Combat Readiness Training Center.

A radar panel in front of Strickland displayed a maze of streaks and blips surrounding the bombing range, each representing an aircraft in flight or in a holding pattern. Keeping the streaks far from the blips required constant chatter and adjustments.

"Basically, we provide safety of flight for all operations in the restricted area," he said.

"We coordinate the air space, then hand them off to command and control. It allows us a god's-eye view."