Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center is a
Michigan Air National Guard
The Michigan Air National Guard (MI ANG) is the aerial militia of the State of Michigan, United States of America. It is, along with the Michigan Army National Guard, an element of the Michigan National Guard. The Michigan Air National Guard is a ...
training facility. It is located west-northwest of
Alpena, Michigan
Alpena ( ') is the only city in and county seat of Alpena County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 10,483 at the 2010 census. After Traverse City, it is the second most populated city in the Northern Michigan region. The city i ...
.
Overview
The Alpena CRTC is a year-round training facility. It provides premier support, facilities, instruction and airspace to
Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to:
Current departments of defence
* Department of Defence (Australia)
* Department of National Defence (Canada)
* Department of Defence (Ireland)
* Department of National Defense (Philippin ...
,
Department of Homeland Security
The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-terr ...
, Coalition and emergency responders to meet the mission requirements of combatant commanders and civil authorities.
It is one of four Combat Readiness Training Centers in the United States. (The others are at
Volk Field
Volk Field Air National Guard Base is a military airport located near the village of Camp Douglas, in Juneau County, Wisconsin, United States., effective 2007-07-05 It is also known as the Volk Field Combat Readiness Training Center (CRTC). T ...
in
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
;
Gulfport, Mississippi
Gulfport is the second-largest city in Mississippi after the state capital, Jackson. Along with Biloxi, Gulfport is the co-county seat of Harrison County and the larger of the two principal cities of the Gulfport-Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolitan ...
; and
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...
.) The Alpena CRTC boasts the largest airspace east of the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
, has 147,000 acres available for ground maneuver units, and trains over 20,000 joint and coalition personnel annually.
The Alpena CRTC is the second organization in the
Air National Guard
The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the ter ...
to be certified as a Joint National Training Center. The base has three JTE's, offers JTAC Training, and operates a JTAC 4m dome simulator.
The Alpena County Regional Airport is a shared use airport between the Alpena CRTC and the Alpena County, allowing for both civilian aircraft operations and military aircraft operations.
Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center Mission Statement
"Our mission at the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center (CRTC) is to provide premiere support, facilities, instruction, and airspace to the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, Coalition Forces, and Emergency Responders in order to meet the mission requirements of Combatant Commanders and Civil Authorities."
History
Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center (CRTC), formerly named Phelps Collins Field and the Phelps Collins Air National Guard Base, has a long interesting history beginning in the early 20th century. Before that date, the area had a reputation for yielding blueberries in abundance to local Indians and early settlers in the area. In the early 20th century, the area was known as the "Seven Mile Plains" named because the flat open area stretching from the Seven Mile Dam to M-32.
During the early part of the 20th century, flying machines began to appear in the sky over most of the country including the Alpena area. It didn't take long for the early aeronautical risk takers to realize the flat open area was just what they needed to land and take off with their aircraft known as
Jennies. The landing area was a bit rough going, but so was the practice of flying in general during those early years.
Around the same time, local developers and land owners realized the potential of the flat area and foresaw the need for a landing strip as a result of the onset of air travel. Thus the idea of an airport was born. Harry Fletcher and his brother Philip (Nephews of Alan M. Fletcher, founder of Fletcher Paper Co.) began negotiations along with Robert Scott (then president of Scott Engineering) and James McQuarrie, who later sat on the County Board's Airport Committee. These individuals were fundamental in developing the plan and getting the state on board.
The tract of 80 acres, previously surveyed by the
Army Corps of Engineers, was donated by Harry and Phillip. Several other 40 acres plots donated by Alpena Power Company set the proposed plan into action.
During that same time,
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...
(WPA) crews were working on projects around the country. They were pressed into service to begin the clearing of the underbrush and leveling out the land in preparation for the first landing area, which would later become the main part of the runway now in existence.
![Captain Phelps Collins](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Captain_Phelps_Collins.jpg)
On 31 August 1931, the airport was formally dedicated as Captain Phelps Collins Field in honor of Alpena's
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
hero, who in May 1917 volunteered to the French Air Service and fought with the celebrated French
Escadrille 103
''Escadrille 103'' of the French Air Force was an elite aviation unit on the Western Front during World War I. One of its many aces, René Fonck was the highest scoring Allied fighter-pilot.
History
Escadrille 103 was formed from '' Breguet Es ...
. On 7 January 1918, he transferred to the famed American
103d Aero Squadron
The 103rd Aero Squadron was an aviation pursuit squadron of the U.S. Air Service that served in combat in France during World War I. Its original complement included pilots from the disbanded Lafayette Escadrille and Lafayette Flying Corps. One ...
, a successor to
Lafayette Escadrille
The La Fayette Escadrille (french: Escadrille de La Fayette) was the name of the French Air Force unit escadrille N 124 during the First World War (1914–1918). This escadrille of the ''Aéronautique Militaire'' was composed largely of Ameri ...
, and died while defending the airspace over Paris on 12 March 1918. Governor
Wilber M. Brucker
Wilber Marion Brucker (June 23, 1894 – October 28, 1968)
was an American Republican politician. Born in Saginaw, Michigan, he served as the 32nd governor of Michigan from 1931 to 1933 and as the United States Secretary of the Army betwee ...
flew in to formally accept the Airport and it became Michigan's first State owned airport. Phelps had spent a lot of time in Alpena as a youth shortly before he became interested in flying. There is a monument in France honoring the escadrille and his name appears on it.
Construction of the first hangar, a 40x90 foot structure built of cobblestone, began in 1935 and was completed in 1937. It could accommodate four average size aircraft of the era.
The
1st Pursuit Group
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...
out of
Selfridge Field
Selfridge Air National Guard Base or Selfridge ANGB is an Air National Guard installation located in Harrison Township, Michigan, near Mount Clemens. Selfridge Field was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the Unit ...
practiced flying maneuvers and gunnery training near
Oscoda, Michigan. When they became aware of the facility at Alpena, they were eager to try it out. By the late 1930s, they began to use the airfield, housing their personnel in tents at the Alpena County Fairgrounds. This marked the beginning of military personnel using the site for training maneuvers as they still do today.
In 1940, 400–500 Selfridge men trained at Phelps Collins with a complement of 35
Seversky P-35
The Seversky P-35 is an American fighter aircraft built by the Seversky Aircraft Company in the late 1930s. A contemporary of the Hawker Hurricane and Messerschmitt Bf 109, the P-35 was the first single-seat fighter in United States Army Air Co ...
's. With
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
looming on the horizon the training tempo increased. The next year they brought
P-40 Warhawk
The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and ...
s and the first
P-38
The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinctive twi ...
's Lockheed Lightning fighters.
World War II
As a result of World War II, the demand for training facilities became crucial and so the field was taken over by the War Assets Administration. The rough landing strip was replaced by a military airfield, with construction beginning on 29 July 1942. When completed, Alpena Army Airfield consisted of three hard-surfaced concrete runways (5000x150 (01/19), 5030x150 (70/250), and 5030x150 (16/34). Improvements included: housing for 2,000 personnel, two mess halls, operation buildings, a hospital and three runways over a mile long and 150 feet wide. Actual construction began in 1942. This was a big project for Alpena. By this time the total acreage of the base had increased to 2,500 acres. It was activated on 19 April 1943.
The planned use of the base, along with training military personnel, was to provide air defense for the Soo Locks. Controlled by the 4250th Army Air Force Base Unit. the airfield was initially assigned to
Air Transport Command
Air Transport Command (ATC) was a United States Air Force unit that was created during World War II as the strategic airlift component of the United States Army Air Forces.
It had two main missions, the first being the delivery of supplies and ...
as a training base for long range transport pilots. In addition, the base was also tasked with certifying and training a pool of new pilots resulting from the
P-47 Thunderbolt
The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bombe ...
modifications for staging out aircraft to overseas bases.
It operated two sub-bases, one being
Kinross Army Airfield
Kinross (, gd, Ceann Rois) is a burgh in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, around south of Perth and around northwest of Edinburgh. It is the traditional county town of the historic county of Kinross-shire.
History
Kinross's origins are connect ...
, which later became the
Strategic Air Command
Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile ...
Kincheloe Air Force Base
Kincheloe Air Force Base was a United States Air Force (USAF) base during the Cold War. Built in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in 1943 during World War II, the base was in service
The base was known by various names, including Kinross Munic ...
and
Raco Army Airfield, which later became an
Air Defense Command
Aerospace Defense Command was a major command (military formation), command of the United States Air Force, responsible for continental air defense. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air Defense Command, was est ...
CIM-10 Bomarc
The Boeing CIM-10 BOMARC (Boeing Michigan Aeronautical Research Center) (IM-99 Weapon System prior to September 1962) was a supersonic ramjet powered long-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) used during the Cold War for the air defense of North ...
surface-to-air missile site during the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
.
It was transferred to
Air Technical Service Command
The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...
in late 1944 when the ATC training program was wound down. Designated as Alpena Army Air Base, the facility was a maintenance and overhaul facility for
B-24 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...
bombers produced by
Ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
at its
Willow Run
Willow Run, also known as Air Force Plant 31, was a manufacturing complex in Michigan, United States, located between Ypsilanti Township and Belleville, built by the Ford Motor Company to manufacture aircraft, especially the B-24 Liberator heav ...
, Michigan aircraft manufacturing plant. Aircraft would be sent to Alpena for modifications prior to their deployment to overseas combat units.
Postwar era
In 1946, Alpena Army Air Base was declared surplus and turned over to the
War Assets Administration
The War Assets Administration (WAA) was created to dispose of United States government-owned surplus material and property from World War II. The WAA was established in the Office for Emergency Management, effective March 25, 1946, by Executive Ord ...
for disposition. It became
Alpena County Regional Airport
Alpena County Regional Airport is a county-owned, public-use, joint civil-military airport in Alpena County, Michigan, United States. The airport is located six nautical miles (7 mi, 11 km) west of the central business distri ...
. Many of the buildings constructed in 1942 were stripped down and auctioned off and the only buildings left standing were the hospital area and big hangar built in 1943. Some of the barracks (which were very small) were sold off and moved. Some were placed in neighborhoods on Alpena's North side and were converted into private residences.
Air Defense Command
![Air Defense Command](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Air_Defense_Command.svg)
Alpena Air Force Station (ADC ID: M-105) was established in 1954 by the
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
Air Defense Command
Aerospace Defense Command was a major command (military formation), command of the United States Air Force, responsible for continental air defense. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air Defense Command, was est ...
as one of a planned deployment of forty-four Mobile radar stations to support the permanent ADC Radar network in the United States sited around the perimeter of the country. This deployment was projected to be operational by mid-1952. Funding, constant site changes, construction, and equipment delivery delayed deployment.
Exercising a right of return to the facility, ADC constructed the radar station on the northwest corner of the airport on the grounds of the former Army Air Base ground station. This site became operational in December 1954 when the
677th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron
The 677th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 30th Air Division, Air Defense Command, stationed at Alpena Air Force Station, Michigan. It was inactivated on 30 November 1 ...
was moved to the new station from
Willow Run Air Force Station
Willow Run Air Force Station is a former United States Air Force station that operated to the east of Willow Run Airport in Michigan.
History
In 1951, the United States Air Force exercised a right of return to Willow Run and established Willow Ru ...
, Michigan. Beneficial occupancy was achieved at this Phase I mobile radar site in late 1954. Operations began in 1956, with an
AN/TPS-1
The AN/TPS-1 Radar was an early warning and tactical control radar developed by Bell Labs and the MIT Radiation Laboratory during World War II. Initially used by the US Army, it was later used by the United States Air Force Air Defense Command, a ...
D radar, and initially the station functioned as a Ground-Control Intercept (GCI) and warning station. As a GCI station, the squadron's role was to guide interceptor aircraft toward unidentified intruders picked up on the unit's radar scopes.
Budget cuts forced the station to close in 1957. It was then replaced by an unmanned gap-filler radar site, designated P-34E with an
AN/FPS-18 The AN/FPS-18 was a medium-range search Radar used by the United States Air Force Air Defense Command.http://www.bendixradiofoundation.com/documents/Bendix%20Radio%20Radar%20History.pdf
This medium-range search radar was designed and built by Bend ...
radar, located on the southwest side of the airport. It was operated as such by the
752d Radar Squadron at
Empire AFS, Michigan from June 1960 until June 1968.
Today, a few buildings remain of the ADC Radar Station, and the FPS-18 support building remains of the Gap Filler site.
Air National Guard use
![ACRTC - Aircraft Fire Simulator](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/ACRTC_-_Aircraft_Fire_Simulator.jpg)
By January 1952, plans were in place to have joint use with the civilian airport. The facility would be instated as an ANG Permanent Field Training Site (PFTS).
Once the ANG took over the site, they completed another round of construction projects totaling $2.5M dollars. Sixty-two concrete block buildings were built including two dining facilities and barracks to house 2,000 men. The north–south runway was extended to 8,000 feet. Most of the day-to-day operations were performed by the Alpena County Road Commission still occupying a few building on the base.
During the 1960s, the runway taxiways were extended and an air traffic control tower was added. Also during that decade, the
Air Defense Command
Aerospace Defense Command was a major command (military formation), command of the United States Air Force, responsible for continental air defense. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air Defense Command, was est ...
Detachment from
Wurtsmith AFB
Wurtsmith Air Force Base is a decommissioned United States Air Force base in Iosco County, Michigan. It operated from 1923 until decommissioned in 1993. On January 18, 1994 it was listed as a Superfund due to extensive groundwater contaminati ...
, Oscoda Michigan, had 60 persons permanently stationed here in Alpena until 1972/73 at which time their unit was discontinued.
The original military personnel assigned in 1953 totaled seven individuals and an additional two military and two Federal Civil Service personnel were added the following year. The next major personnel change was in 1979 when the military personnel had their status changed from Federal Civil Service Technicians to Active Guard Reservists (AGR). About that time the civilians employed on the base became Michigan State Civil Servants.
In early 1960s, the Grayling Air-to-Ground Gunnery Range Negotiations began and early during the decade the range was constructed on 1,900 acres near
Grayling, Michigan
Grayling ( ') is a city and the county seat of Crawford County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the only incorporated community in Crawford County. The population was 1,884 at the 2010 census. The city is surrounded by Grayling Charter Town ...
. Soon after, aircraft could be seen using the site to fly sorties for aircraft gunnery and bombing exercises. This added asset increased the usage and value of the base immensely.
Units from all over the United States come annually to train, with Air National Guardsman totaling in the tens of thousands.
In 1991, the site was renamed the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center (CRTC). This new title was more in line with the base mission of "combat training".
With the closing of Wurtsmith AFB in 1993, the need for radar approach and control was assigned to the CRTC. Equipment and personnel to operate it were added to the facility. The mission of the CRTC was increased with the additional tasking of running an ANG Medical Readiness Training School. The schoolhouse was designed to train ANG medical units for field operations. Both of these programs added personnel to the workforce and the number of employees, military and civilian, was over 100 persons.
Construction in the early 1990s was ongoing, with a major emphasis on upgrading the 1950s barracks and latrines to current standards. Thus a $3.8 million dormitory upgrade project begun and office buildings and officer quarters were all remodeled.
During the period, under the command of Col Thomas G. Cutler, the base created a long range plan including a new dining facility, fire station, operations facility, squadron operations (office) buildings, a convention center, a new facility at the Grayling Range and new dormitories.
In 1991, another tasking was added to the mission when the Air Combat Maneuver Instrumentation (ACMI) was instated. This system involves computerized communication between the aircraft and a computer satellite, providing full mission replay.
With the addition of the Fire Training Site and MOUT City in early 2000, the CRTC hosts several Fireman Schools and numerous law enforcement training courses annually.
Although the CRTC's core mission is to train ANG units, other military train here regularly. Air Force, Army, Navy Seals Marines and Latvian and Italian military have trained at the site. In recent years the CRTC has opened its gate to numerous non-profit organizations. It is not uncommon to see canine training, emergency response training along with other training maneuvers running all at the same time. Youth programs have expanded from the traditional
Civil Air Patrol
Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is a congressionally chartered, federally supported non-profit corporation that serves as the official civilian auxiliary of the United States Air Force (USAF). CAP is a volunteer organization with an aviation-minded mem ...
Cadets to include ROTC, JRROTC,
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded i ...
/
Girl Scouts of the USA
Girl Scouts of the United States of America (GSUSA), commonly referred to as simply Girl Scouts, is a youth organization for girls in the United States and American girls living abroad. Founded by Juliette Gordon Low in 1912, it was organized a ...
, Freedom Academy Students, Michigan Youth Camp Cadets.
With the addition of 26 Traditional Guardsman positions in 2000, the number of total base personnel now is over 200 employees. AGRs, Traditional Guardsman, Michigan State Civil Service and contracted employees make up the group. Military members come from all over the United States as well as local residents. Prior to their assignment at the base, many personnel have served the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marines.
Personnel have been called to give aid for local area flooding and deployed to Hurricane Katrina relief mission. Many have volunteered and been deployed overseas in support of operations: Desert Storm, Desert Shield, Iraqi Freedom, Joint Forge, Jump Start, Enduring Freedom, Northern Watch, Northern Eagle and Deep Freeze.
In 2013 manpower reductions took place with the closing of the Medical Readiness Training Site (MRTS). This closing was part of a reduction in manpower directed by the USAF and ANG. The closing of the MRTS constituted a loss of 14 enlisted and two officers.
The Alpena CRTC also faced manpower reductions in 2013. The vehicle maintenance shop has faced manpower reductions. The Alpena CRTC Supply has been reduced to two members. The total loss of manpower in 2013 was over 25 enlisted members.
Since 2012, the Alpena CRTC has participated in one of the many
Department of Defense's multinational exercises called exercise Northern Strike. This exercise is one of the largest reserve component exercises designed to ensure members of the
United States military
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...
, as well as other nation's military's train together to accomplish mission essential tasks and training for preparation of the future wartime environment with future adversaries. This exercise is designed to replicate a modern-wartime environment, utilizing aerial live-fire ranges to simulate close air support, as well as other mission essential tasks such as emergency response and testing air mobility capabilities.
In 2017, Captain Brett DeVries, assigned to 107th Fighter Squadron in the Michigan Air National Guard, crash landed an A-10 at the Alpena Regional County Airport after the canopy of the aircraft had been removed and the landing gear would not extend down.
Northern Strike 2021 Exercise the Alpena CRTC hosted the Arizona Air National Guard's MQ-9 Reaper, an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) that is utilized for aerial reconnaissance, close air support, and aerial precision strikes. During Northern Strike Exercise the United States Air Force tested the capabilities of an upcoming technology called the 'Ground Based Detect and Avoid system (GBDAA) at the Alpena CRTC.
In 2021, for the first time in United States history the United States Air Force had conducted the operation of landing an aircraft on a US highway. This operation was conducted at the Alpena CRTC to show United States adversaries that the United States Air Force has the capability to land on highways and continue to be an effective fighting force as long as there are roads to land on. This proof of concept was intended to prove if the US military could operate at any location, anytime. The US Air Force, and Michigan Air National Guard landed four A-10 Thunderbolt II's assigned to the 354th Fighter Squadron, and the Michigan Air National Guard's 127th Wing. An additional two C-146 Wolfhounds, assigned to the Air Force Special Operations Command also participated in this highway landing operation.
In 2021, the Alpena CRTC participated in an Air Mobility Command and hosted exercise Mobility Guardian, an exercise where the
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
tests its Agile Combat Employment (ACE) capabilities, as well as its Rapid Global Mobility capabilities with 18 air mobility aircraft at six different military locations. This exercise was designed to test the capabilities the
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
has when it comes to the movement of personnel and equipment in high-stress combat rich environments. Furthermore, this exercise tested the US military's capabilities in a combat environment to refuel and rearm aircraft. Additionally, a Contingency Location Team (CLT) and an Air Force special tactics team simulated an airfield seizure at the Alpena CRTC further proving the US Military's Agile Combat Employment Capabilities. Exercise Mobility Guardian was conducted in preparation for a potential wartime environment with a developed nation or adversary.
The Winter Strike 2022 Exercise at Grayling Range, attached to the Alpena CRTC, was a multinational joint exercise between the
Michigan Air National Guard
The Michigan Air National Guard (MI ANG) is the aerial militia of the State of Michigan, United States of America. It is, along with the Michigan Army National Guard, an element of the Michigan National Guard. The Michigan Air National Guard is a ...
and the
Latvian military during the winter of 2021. Winter Strike exercise provides training for visiting units to acclimate to the demanding winter weather and to maintain wartime readiness regardless of the climate.
See also
*
United States general surveillance radar stations
United States general surveillance radar stations include Army and USAF stations of various US air defense networks (in reverse chronological order):
*Joint Surveillance System (JSS), with radar stations controlled by joint FAA/USAF ROCCs beginnin ...
References
External links
*
"Alpena Facebook Page"
Capt. Phelps Collins''USAF Fact Sheet''
ACRTC – Alpena CRTC HistoryInformation for Alpena AFS, MI
{{Aerospace Defense Command, state=collapsed
Military installations in Michigan
Aerospace Defense Command units
Centers of the United States Air Force
Installations of the United States Air National Guard
Michigan Army National Guard
Radar stations of the United States Air Force
Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Michigan
Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces Technical Service Command
Military history of Michigan
1940 establishments in Michigan