Northern Edge ’11 kicks off in Alaska

  • Published
  • By Marine Sgt. Deanne Hurla
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska --  More than 6,000 service members from the National Guard, Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps began training June 13 as part of the U.S. Pacific Command exercise Northern Edge '11.

The exercise brings together a diverse, joint team in Alaska, to complete validation of tactics, training and procedures that to address contingency response throughout the Asian Pacific region, according to Lt. Gen. Dana Atkins, the Alaskan Command commander.

The training, which emphasizes integrating joint forces for real-world contingencies, is designed to sharpen participant skills; practice operations, techniques and procedures; improve command, control and communications; and develop interoperable plans and programs.

Alaska provides a unique training environment for nearly 30 units and more than 150 aircraft participating.

"I've said many times before that we have all domains of warfare in Alaska," General Atkins said. "There is the Gulf of Alaska for a large maritime presence. A large interior landmass with about 1.5 million acres. The air space we use here is 65,000 miles and [ranges from] surface to 23,000 feet, and the weather goes from fantastic to 'oh no'."

The two-week exercise is designed to test the skills of all participants involved, from pilots to ground and maritime units.

The scenarios are developed to be complex enough to validate service members' skill sets and to validate a live, virtual and constructive concept.

For the aviation units operating out of JBER the live part is the aircraft platforms on the flightline, the virtual includes the pilots in the simulators and the constructive piece includes the people creating new threats to make the training even more challenging.

"I've had the privilege to inherit Northern Edge, and I just see it getting better and better," explained the general. "Not only because the war fighter sent here is more capable and more skilled, but also our training environment in Alaska is better.

"Over the last three years we've really focused on getting the war fighters input from all services to build the kind of training environment that meets their objectives, I think were getting very close to that," he added.

"I think we've proven to ourselves that the wars of today and tomorrow will be done jointly and we need to be able to operate jointly."

Each branch of service completes several joint exercises each year; however, Northern Edge is one of the few to encompass all branches active and reserve into one joint mission.