{"id":8784,"date":"2023-12-03T18:58:23","date_gmt":"2023-12-03T18:58:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/?p=8784"},"modified":"2023-12-05T19:34:18","modified_gmt":"2023-12-05T19:34:18","slug":"maryland-air-national-guard-demonstrates-readiness-during-operation-frosty-strike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/2023\/12\/03\/maryland-air-national-guard-demonstrates-readiness-during-operation-frosty-strike\/","title":{"rendered":"Maryland Air National Guard demonstrates readiness during Operation Frosty Strike"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Master Sgt. Chris Schepers<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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MIDDLE RIVER, Md. – The Maryland Air National Guard conducted a sweeping operational readiness exercise involving the full spectrum of missions and personnel across Martin State Air National Guard Base Nov. 30 through Dec. 3.

The Air Combat Command directed exercise, designated Operation Frosty Strike 2023, was designed to demonstrate the 175th Wing\u2019s ability to survive and operate in a simulated combat environment against a near-peer adversary while still executing mission-essential tasks and core job functions.

\u201cThe significance of this exercise is that it underscores our ability to conduct multi-domain operations in the most difficult of situations,\u201d said Maryland Air National Guard Col. Richard Hunt, 175th Wing Commander. \u201cWith a combat deployment scheduled next year and rising threats around the globe, now more than ever we need to maintain peak readiness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n


The level of capability demonstrated during the exercise was the result of \u201ccarefully and thoughtfully cultivating a top-tier team over the course of many years,\u201d said Hunt. <\/p>\n\n\n\n


The Airmen of the 175th Maintenance Group and 175th Operations Group were recognized for maintaining the most mission-capable A-10 fleet within the entire Air National Guard during fiscal year 2023. It also has a level of combat experience that few units in the Air Force can match. In addition to numerous combat deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past 20 years, the unit played a major role in executing the aerial campaign against the Islamic State, where it planned and flew some of the Air Force\u2019s most intensive combat missions in decades.

\u201cOver the past four days, our members have proven that they are ready, but pilots and maintainers of the caliber we\u2019ve seen demonstrated during this exercise aren\u2019t created overnight,\u201d Hunt said. \u201cIt takes years to develop the talent and experience that resides in this Wing, which is why it is so important to keep the 175th Wing in a fighter mission. Even the temporary loss of a flying mission would decimate the wealth of talent and expertise built over the course of decades.\u201d

According to Hunt, that kind of capability demonstrated during the exercise could easily be lost, there are options to preserve it that are both easily accomplished and affordable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


\u201cOne of the options available is fleet-leveling fighters from the active Air Force,\u201d Hunt said. \u201cGiven our demonstrated readiness levels and affordability of the National Guard when compared to active duty units, that would certainly be something worth looking at.\u201d

During Operation Frosty Strike, the wing demonstrated its ability to generate air power from a main operating base and showcased its ability to provide that same air power through Agile Combat Employment from an austere location simulated at Phillips Army Airfield at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Edgewood, Md. Throughout the exercise, they performed integrated combat turns, which is the rapid rearming and refueling of the A-10 with the engines running, while responding to different threats presented during the exercise.

\u201cThese types of exercises are important because it keeps us on our toes,\u201d said Maryland Air National Guard Master Sgt. Ryan Oldewurtel, 175th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron avionics supervisor. \u201cIt lets us practice communication, while still being able to provide fully mission-capable aircraft during the chaos of a readiness exercise. It helps us to stay prepared for anything we may encounter in the future.\u201d

While maintainers and pilots were generating air power, Airmen assigned to the 175th Cyberspace Operations Squadron and the 276th Cyberspace Operations Squadron were working hard to keep the wing\u2019s network operational while working through a plethora of threats presented during the exercise. The cyber operators from both squadrons worked together as a combined team and conducted defensive cyber operations against any \u201cadversaries\u201d conducting malicious activities against Department of Defense networks and allied resources.

\u201cExercises like this are critical to allow us to self-assess our own ability to perform our mission to ensure that when it comes time to mobilize in support of National Mission Teams, we have the personnel who are trained, prepared, and equipped and ready to go downrange,\u201d said Maryland Air National Guard Maj. Justin Schaber, 276th Cyberspace Operations Group Department of Cyber Operations Training assistant officer in charge. \u201cI think this exercise is fantastic and I have really enjoyed working alongside not just the COG but the entire wing and integrating with them to make sure we are taking a \u2018one team, one fight\u2019 approach to this.\u201d

Airmen trained in civil engineering, medical, security forces, logistics and many other support functions were required to perform their missions while wearing chemical protective gear and had to take appropriate actions to respond to simulated attacks.

\u201cThe great thing about the exercise is that it\u2019s four focused days for Airmen to exercise core skills and demonstrate their professionalism in a simulated combat environment,\u201d said Maryland Air National Guard Col. Paul Kanning, 175th Operations Group commander. \u201cThe exercise moves through a wide range of threats and challenges to train Airmen to execute the mission in a challenging environment that will validate their dedication to the mission.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Airmen trained in a wide range of career fields demonstrated their ability to perform their primary duties in situations including simulated attacks from cyber, missiles, chemical weapons and ground forces while facing power outages, inclement weather events, vehicle accidents, force protection events, equipment shortages and more.

\u201cWe tested Airmen from every career field at the wing in high-stress and fast-paced situations that gave them the ability to demonstrate their ability to react and perform their mission during a variety of challenges designed to stretch our capabilities, so we can see where we need to review and improve our processes,\u201d said Hunt.

Throughout the exercise, all training scenarios were monitored and observed by the wing inspector general office and subject matter experts making up the wing inspection team.

\u201cThis exercise is a big test for how ready the wing is to deploy worldwide in a worst-case scenario for a future fight that we could potentially see,\u201d said Maryland Air National Guard Lt. Col. Ian Alexander, 175th Wing inspector general. \u201cWe don\u2019t normally get an opportunity to get the whole wing together over the course of four days and evaluate our Airmen in conditions that we can\u2019t replicate during normal day-to-day training.\u201d

At the same time, professionals assigned to the ACC inspector general\u2019s office observed and inspected the wing inspector general\u2019s office and their ability to implement the commander\u2019s inspection program and conduct self-assessments.

At the conclusion of the exercise, the ACC inspector general team and wing inspection team members met with wing leaders and the wing inspector general to go over what they learned before they submit their assessments.

\u201cI am extremely proud of our Airmen and how they performed throughout the exercise; their professionalism shown through despite all they were facing, and it was impressive to witness,\u201d said Hunt. \u201cThis is not the end. We always need to be training and evaluating so we are ready whenever our state or nation needs us, and the results of this exercise makes me confident that we are.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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by Master Sgt. Chris Schepers MIDDLE RIVER, Md. – The Maryland Air National Guard conducted a sweeping operational readiness exercise involving the full spectrum of missions and personnel across Martin State Air National Guard Base Nov. 30 through Dec. 3. The Air Combat Command directed exercise, designated Operation Frosty Strike 2023, was designed to demonstrate  Read the Rest…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":160,"featured_media":8791,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/160"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8784"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8784\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8803,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8784\/revisions\/8803"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8791"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}