Joint services prep Marines for Afghan deployment

  • Published
  • By Casey Bain
  • JFIIT, USJFCOM
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. --  U.S. Joint Forces Command's joint fires experts helped train Marine battalion and regimental staffs preparing to deploy to Afghanistan during an exercise here.

The recently completed Spartan Resolve exercise, conducted by the Marine Corps Tactics and Operations Group, USJFCOM's Joint Fires Integration and Interoperability Team and the Air Force's 46th Test Wing, included academic instruction, a command post exercise and a live fire event.

"The training exercise focused on integrating joint, coalition, and interagency partners in a live, virtual, and constructive environment replicating conditions commanders and staffs will experience once deployed," said Marine Corps Lt. Col. James Szepesy, MCTOG's aviation integration lead. "The JFIIT, 46th Test Wing, and MCTOG team provided the training audience with highly realistic training scenarios and an in-depth, combat-like experience that will benefit the unit as they prepare to deploy."

The 46th Test Wing, from Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., provided MCTOG with a fully functional Theater Battle Management Core System that replicated the capabilities the Marines will have when deployed in Afghanistan.

"The TBMCS we provided Spartan Resolve is the exact same capability and system the Marines will have in theater," said Fred Chavers, 46th Test Wing engineer. "It's a critical capability that permits the ground commander to nominate, track, and verify targets in their air tasking order."

Part of JFIIT's mission during this exercise was facilitating connectivity between the 46th Test Wing's TBMCS and the MCTOG staff running the exercise at Camp Pendleton.

"We had the task of helping to work through information assurance issues and other connectivity challenges between the Air Force and the Marine Corps during the exercise," said Craig Berryman, JFIIT senior analyst. "This was the first time the 46th Test Wing had supported a Spartan Resolve exercise, and we wanted to ensure this unique capability could be fully leveraged by MCTOG and the Marines being trained."

TBMCS provided Spartan Resolve and the training unit with an air operations center-like capability to support Marine staff planning and air support requests, according to Doug Dauwer, 46th Test Wing engineer.

"Another advantage of our capability is we can publish ATOs and airspace control orders from Eglin and allow the training audience to access and download information at the training site so they can use it for operations planning and execution just as they will when they're deployed," he added.

"An important part of this training equips Marine Corps commanders and staffs with the knowledge they need to use joint combat multipliers at their disposal when they are deployed," Szepesy said. "Our goal is to teach Marines how to plan, integrate, and employ joint fires and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance assets in a realistic operational environment, and the tools that JFIIT and the 46th Test Wing provide are an essential part of this training."

According to JFIIT leadership, supporting Spartan Resolve and MCTOG is an important part of its mission to improve the integration and interoperability of joint fires focused at the tactical level.

"This kind of pre-deployment training is an absolute necessity for any unit that wants to fight in today's operational environment," said Bowman. "Today's irregular warfare environment requires warfighters to fully understand and be able to leverage the capabilities of the entire air and ground team. Spartan Resolve is an excellent example of that principle, and we believe JFIIT plays an important role in supporting this outstanding program."