11/11/2017: Landing Support Specialists with Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force-Crisis Response-Africa, conduct helicopter support team drills with an MV-22C Osprey at Morón Air Base, Spain, Oct. 4, 2017.
SPMAGTF-CR-AF deployed to conduct limited crises-response and theatre-security operation in Europe and North Africa.
MORóN AIR BASE, MORóN, SPAIN
10.03.2017
Video by Sgt. Takoune Norasingh
U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Europe and Africa
11/8/2017: The Commander of Air Combat Command, General Mike Holmes, visited Moody Air Force base and took time to answer questions from airmen under his command.
11.02.2017
Video by Staff Sgt. Nicholas Alder
23d Air Wing Public Affairs
11/7/2017: HMAS Warramunga departed her home port of Fleet Base East on the 08 October 2017 to commence the ship’s deployment on Operation MANITOU.
Warramunga is supporting international efforts to promote maritime security, stability and prosperity in the Middle East region (MER).
The ship is operating as part of the multi-national Combined Maritime Forces, predominately tasked to support Combined Task Force 150 for counter-terrorism and maritime security operations.
Warramunga is on her third deployment to the MER and is the 66th rotation of a Royal Australian Navy vessel to the region since 1990.
Australian Department of Defence
October 10, 2017
11/07/2017: F-22 receives fuel from a KC-10 during a refueling mission over Iraq, Oct. 27, 2017.
The F-22 possesses a sophisticated sensor suite allowing the pilot to track, identify, shoot and kill air-to-air threats before being detected.
It is on regular rotation now to CENCOM and is providing the kind of flexibility which a fifth generation aircraft can provide and enhancing the capabilities of the entire combat force.
Recently, Second Line of Defense visited Langley AFB and got on update on the F-22 and the evolution of the air combat force from the CO of the First Fighter Wing and we will publish this interview soon.
AL DHAFRA AIR BASE, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
10.27.2017
Video by Senior Airman Brandon Gifford
380th Air Expeditionary Wing
11/05/2017: A combined platoon of Royal Tongan Marines and Australian Army soldiers from A Company, 1st Battalion The Royal Australian Regiment attacked an enemy position in mountainous terrain at Okaramio, near Havelock on New Zealand’s South Island, as part of Exercise Southern Katipo 2017 – New Zealand’s largest biennial field training exercise.
The troops scaled a steep hill, through thick pine forest to attack role-playing enemy snipers, while an Australian Protected Mobility Vehicle section provided fire support.
Australian Department of Defence
10/27/17
Involving the Royal New Zealand Navy, Royal New Zealand Air Force and New Zealand Army, as well as Defence Forces from 13 partner nations including Australia, the biennial military exercise Southern Katipo is the largest undertaken in New Zealand.
The exercise is a combined, joint Field Training Exercise focused on developing, exercising and evaluating the New Zealand Defence Force’s ability to project forces anywhere in the South West Pacific and either operate independently or with its coalition partners.
The exercise is designed to simulate a real operation as much as possible and create training challenges across the spectrum of military operations, including humanitarian aid and maritime patrols, through to peacekeeping and conventional war fighting. Exercise Southern Katipo 2017 involves more than 3000 troops as well as six helicopters, 17 fixed-wing military aircraft, five Naval ships and more than 100 military vehicles.
11/05/2017: Mission video highlighting the capabilities of the 521st Air Mobility Operations Wing, based at Ramstein Air Base but supporting geographically separated units across the world.
RP, GERMANY
06.20.2017
Video by Staff Sgt. Stephen Ellis
86th Airlift Wing
11/01/2017: Members of the Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa participated with French forces in a French Desert Commando Course in the Arta region of Djibouti.
The course consists of up to seven phases that teach participants combat life-saving skills, field tactics, land navigation, weapons training, trap setting, survival cooking, and water-source locating.
Additionally, the men and women who complete this course will learn survival tactics, accomplished water and mountain obstacle courses and ultimately, will have gained practical knowledge for surviving in austere environments.
CAMP LEMONNIER, DJIBOUTI
09.25.2017
Video by Senior Airman Ryan McDivitt
Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa
10/25/2017: U.S. Marines with Battery R, 5th Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division launch a rocket from a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) off the USS Anchorage (LPD-23) during Exercise Dawn Blitz, Oct. 22, 2017.
Dawn Blitz 17 allows the amphibious force to integrate the F-35B Lightning II and HIMARS into the exercise to validate a capability with platforms not traditionally used at the Marine Expeditionary Brigade/Expeditionary Strike Group or Marine Expeditionary Unit/Amphibious Ready Group levels.
10.22.2017
Video by Lance Cpl. Victoria Decker
1st Marine Expeditionary Brigade
According to the USMC, the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System is described as follows:
HIMARS is a C-5 transportable, wheeled, indirect fire, rocket/missile system capable of firing all current and future rockets and missiles in the Multiple-Launch Rocket System Family of Munitions (MFOM).
The HIMARS launcher consists of a fire control system, carrier (automotive platform), and launcher-loader module that performs all operations necessary to complete a fire mission.
The basic system is defined as one launcher, one resupply vehicle, and two resupply trailers.
HIMARS addresses an identified, critical warfighting deficiency in Marine Corps fire support.
HIMARS employs the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) rocket to provide precision fires in support of the MAGTF. HIMARS is a transformational, responsive, general-support/general-support reinforcing precision indirect fire weapon system that accurately engages targets at long ranges (in excess of 40 miles) with high volumes of lethal precision fires in all weather conditions and throughout all phases of combat operations ashore.
But this is a platform-centric description not how it can contribute to the fight in a distributed battlespace.
For the Marines, the HIMARS can be used ashore or as they have just demonstrated can be fired from an amphibious ship as well during Dawn Blitz.
And in the most recent WTI exercise, the F-35 operated as the trigger for HIMARS firing.
This development can be missed or simply look like legacy aircraft support to a ground firing capability.
But it is not.
U.S. Marines with Battery R, 5th Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division launch a rocket from a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) off the USS Anchorage (LPD-23) during Exercise Dawn Blitz, Oct. 22, 2017. Dawn Blitz 17 allows the amphibious force to integrate the F-35B Lightning II and HIMARS into the exercise to validate a capability with platforms not traditionally used at the Marine Expeditionary Brigade/Expeditionary Strike Group or Marine Expeditionary Unit/Amphibious Ready Group levels. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Logan Block)
The F-35s sensors onboard provide significant range and ability to target discriminate which can be shared with the ground force to guide their operational trajectories as well as, in the case of HIMARS, a key target to destroy.
With the decision-making ability built into the cockpit of the F-35, the pilots can identify key choke point targets to support ground fires and can themselves add weapons to the fight.
In other words, rather than doing class ground support, the F-35 is capable of integrating the ground fires into an overall distributed strike force.
HIMARS integration with F-35 and the shipboard firing are case studies of the transition of the USMC and not simply case studies of more advanced ways of doing what they have been doing.