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Exercise Northern Edge is a military joint training exercise conducted by the United States Armed Forces in the Gulf of Alaska. [1] Alaskan Command (ALCOM) uses Alaskan training ranges to conduct this operation. [2]
The Jack Frost was composed of three exercitations held in 1975, 1976 and 1979. The first of these was Jack Frost '75, an Alaskan Command-sponsored exercise. The second is Jack Frost '76, it has exercises sponsored by the United States Readiness Command.
This year,[ when? ] units from the 9th Infantry Division from Ft. Lewis included the 3/34FA and 2/47 Infantry deployed in the field to test cold weather operations. In 1976, a detachment of the 337th Army Security Agency Company provided electronic warfare training which included electronic countermeasures (ECM), electronic counter-countermeasures (ECCM), and communications security. [2] [3]
US Readiness Command learned that the nickname, Jack Frost, was prohibited by JCS publications. The command received approval for the name Brim Frost, and the final Jack Frost exercise ran in 1979. [2]
Brim Frost was composed of five exercises. The first, Brim Frost '81, held in 1981, was sponsored by US Readiness Command. Brim Frost '83 was conducted from January 10 to February 11, 1983. Brim Frost '85 began December 10, 1984 and concluded January 24, 1985, with more than 18,000 military troops participating. These operations exercised the ability of Joint Task Force Alaska to conduct winter operations. [4] [ dead link ]
Brim Frost '87 had 24,000 Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Navy personnel. More than 143 Air Force aircraft, 130 Army aircraft, and five major Coast Guard cutters were employed during Brim Frost '87. Brim Frost '89, sponsored by Forces Command had more than 26,000 troops and cost $15 million. This exercise involved numerous communications initiatives such as Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft, satellites, and electronic intelligence. [4] [ dead link ]
Brim Frost '89 aimed to include more than 26,000 troops; however, nearly all of the units dropped out of the exercise following the crash due to extreme weather of a Canadian C-130 military transport plane and the death of 9 Canadians at Ft. Wainwright in Fairbanks, Alaska. [5] The only units to participate were the 4th and 5th Battalions of the U.S. Army's 9th Infantry Regiment, 6th Infantry Division, some units of the Alaska National Guard and their necessary support units, and the 2nd Battalion of the 17th Infantry Regiment who were deployed to Kodiak Island.[ citation needed ]
Arctic Warrior '91 replaced the Brim Frost exercises with the reestablishment of Alaska Command in 1990. It also transferred the exercise sponsorship from Forces Command to Pacific Command. The exercise ran from January 25 to February 6, 1991. It featured live fire and had more than 10,000 troops participating. [2]
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The first Northern Edge exercise took place in 1993. This exercise was scaled in comparison. ALCOM designed it to be an internal training event for the headquarters and component headquarters staff. [6] The Northern Edge '94 field training exercise from March 11 to March 18, 1994, involved more than 14,600 military personnel. ALCOM activated the joint task force Northern Edge in response to a simulated National Command Authority mission that provided forces to conduct peace enforcement operations. [7] Northern Edge '95 and '96 each consisted of three phases and included more than 14,000 personnel who participated in the joint exercise.[ citation needed ] The Northern Edge '97, with more than 9,000 personnel, divided its field training into two parts, held in different locations. Major air and ground maneuvers were held at Fort Greely. The naval harbor defense portion was held at Seward, Alaska.[ citation needed ]
Northern Edge '98 began with a mass airborne drop of 600 troops in training areas southeast of Fairbanks, while maritime forces began protecting the harbor in Ketchikan. The mock town of Simpsonville was used for joint live fire exercises. Apache helicopters supported a brigade air assault, and more than 1,200 sorties assisted in air operations. The USS Ingraham (FFG-61) was the high-value unit for the port security portion of the exercise and the U.S. Marine Corps Fleet Anti-terrorism Security Team (FAST) was the main defender alongside the Navy and Coast Guard.[ citation needed ] The Northern Edge '99 included a night airborne mass jump, a brigade air assault, more than 1,200 air sorties flown, theatre missile defense, harbor defense, and a three-day-and-night live fire at Simpsonville. The harbor defense exercise was conducted in Seward, with U.S. Navy, Coast Guard, and Canadian Navy units participating. The USMC Reserve Unit from Anchorage provided opposition force assets for the harbor defense portion of the exercise.[ citation needed ]
During Northern Edge 2000, there were a number of live-fire exercises. A theatre missile defense cell took part in the exercise by conducting anti-ballistic missile operations against a simulated attack. Global Hawk, an unmanned aerial vehicle, provided commanders with near real-time aerial imagery.[ citation needed ] The Northern Edge 2001 facilitated joint operations in a cold climate.[ citation needed ] Northern Edge 2002 trained the crews from an aircraft carrier and its accompanying support ships. The USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) operated from the Gulf of Alaska, and its aircraft, including the new F-18 Super Hornet, flew into the interior of the state. The area around Valdez served as the backdrop for the maritime activities and ground defense maneuvers, which focused on protecting the visiting USS Dubuque (LPD-8) and the Valdez Marine Terminal.[ citation needed ] The war in Iraq forced the Northern Edge 2003 to contract.[ citation needed ]
More than 9,000 people participated in Northern Edge 2004, which focused on air-centric tactics and personnel recovery operations in remote areas of the Pacific Alaska Range Complex near Fairbanks, Alaska, and over water in the Gulf. [8] While traditionally held in the cold weather months, for 2004, Northern Edge was moved to June to accommodate the worldwide scheduling of combat forces and availability of the carrier strike group. [9] Held from June 7 through June 16, 2004. Along with aircraft from Carrier Group Seven, several other air units participated, including the Pacific Air Forces, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing from Okinawa, Japan, [9] and fighter units from Mountain Home AFB, Idaho.[ citation needed ]
The carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) paid a port visit to Esquimalt, British Columbia, between June 18–21, 2004, and carried out bilateral exercises with the Royal Canadian Navy between June 22–29, 2004. [10] Carrier Strike Group Three also paid a port visit to Pearl Harbor between June 22–26, 2004, prior to RIMPAC 2004. [11]
After more than a year of planning and preparation, the U.S. Northern Command with the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management and others conducted Alaska Shield and Northern Edge 2005. Northern Edge 2005 took place from August 15–19, 2005. It was combined with the State of Alaska's homeland security exercise called Alaska Shield. Scenario elements included an earthquake in Juneau, bio-terrorism in Ketchikan and Juneau, critical infrastructure protection at Fort Greely refinery, and terrorist attacks in various cities throughout Alaska. [12]
Northern Edge 2006 was a joint training exercise from June 5–16, 2006. Approximately 5,000 US active duty and reserve component participated by executing defensive counter-air, close-air support, air interdiction of maritime targets and personnel recovery missions. The exercise involved over 110 aircraft and two US Navy destroyers, namely the USS Chafee (DDG-90) out of Seward and the USS O'Kane (DDG-77) out of Homer.[ citation needed ]
Northern Edge 2007 combined with Alaska Shield took place from April 30 to May 17, 2007. This involves more than 75 agencies and approximately 7,000 people. Military and civilian participants worked together to intercept aircraft, respond to attacks on the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System and the North Pole Industrial Complex, and conduct medical evacuations after mass casualties incidents. [13] [14] Northern Edge 2008 was held May 5–16, 2008. More than 5,000 participants from five service branches of the United States Armed Forces were involved. [15]
Operation Northern Edge 2009 was held between 15 and 26 June 2009. [16] This joint exercise has about 9,000 U.S. active-duty and reserve component military personnel participating. It was designed to be an air-centric exercise, with more than 200 aircraft from every branch of the U.S. military involved. Lt. General Dana T. Atkins, USAF, the commanding general of Alaskan Command and Eleventh Air Force, noted:
Northern Edge is the premier exercise conducted within the Pacific Command's area of responsibility. It lets our joint military men learn about each other. [17]
Northern Edge operations were conducted within the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex, which includes more than 60,000 square miles (155,400 square kilometers) of air space, and the Gulf of Alaska, which encompasses 50,000 square miles (129,500 square kilometers) of air space. [16] On 22 June 2009, during the Northern Edge exercise, Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin visited the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier John C. Stennis. [18] Stennis was the flagship of Carrier Strike Group Three, which also consisted of Carrier Air Wing Nine (CVW-9) and the guided-missile cruiser Antietam. [16]
The 2013 exercise was cancelled due to budget sequestration in 2013. The military did not publicly announce the dates for Northern Edge '15, and a Freedom of Information Act request was required. Several Southcentral communities held protests in May. [19] The City Council of Cordova, Alaska, passed a resolution to formally oppose the Navy's training exercises.
The USS Theodore Roosevelt participated in Northern Edge 2019. Approximately 10,000 US military personnel participated in Northern Edge 2019. It is a joint training exercise hosted by US air forces, which was held on May 13, 2019, in central Alaska.
In 2021, US units, including one carrier strike group and the Makin Island amphibious, embarked on the 15th marine expeditionary unit. The exercise is designed to provide realistic warfighter training and develop joint interoperability. This is done by providing a venue large enough for large force training and multi-domain operations and training that focuses on tactical parts
Northern Edge 23-1 was a multinational multi-service training exercise that consisted of the United States Air Force, Marine Corps, the Royal Air Force, and the Royal Australian Air Force held from May 4 to May 19, 2023. The exercise director, U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. David Piffarerio, described the inclusion of allies and partners as the "central role" to "effectively deter our strategic competitors." [20] [21]
USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74), named for Senator John C. Stennis of Mississippi, is the seventh of the Nimitz-class of nuclear-powered supercarriers in the United States Navy.
The United States Second Fleet is a numbered fleet in the United States Navy responsible for operations in the East Coast and North Atlantic Ocean. Established after World War II, Second Fleet was deactivated in 2011, when the United States government believed that Russia's military threat had diminished, and reestablished in 2018 amid renewed tensions between NATO and Russia.
USS Merrill (DD-976), named for Rear Admiral Aaron Stanton Merrill USN (1890–1961), was a Spruance-class destroyer that entered service with the United States Navy in 1978. Merrill served as the US Navy's test platform for the Tomahawk cruise missile. In the 1980s, the destroyer took part in Operation Earnest Will in the Persian Gulf during heightened tensions with Iran. The destroyer was decommissioned in 1998. The vessel was used as a target ship in 2003 and sunk off Hawaii in 2003.
The Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC) is the world's largest international maritime warfare exercise. RIMPAC is held biennially during June and July of even-numbered years from Honolulu, Hawaii, with the exception of 2020 where it was held in August. It is hosted and administered by the United States Navy's Indo-Pacific Command, headquartered at Pearl Harbor, in conjunction with the Marine Corps, the Coast Guard, and Hawaii National Guard forces under the control of the Governor of Hawaii.
The Strike Fighter Squadron 14 (VFA-14) "Tophatters" are a United States Navy fighter attack squadron based at Naval Air Station Lemoore. They fly the F/A-18E Super Hornet, and are the Navy's oldest active squadron, having formed in 1919. Their callsign is Camelot, and their tail code is NG.
Carrier Air Wing Nine (CVW-9) is a United States Navy aircraft carrier air wing based at Naval Air Station Lemoore. The Air Wing is currently assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72). The Tail Code of aircraft assigned to CVW-9 is NG.
Exercise Valiant Shield is one of the largest United States military war games held in the Pacific Ocean. Nine Valiant Shield exercises were conducted between 2006 and 2022. According to the Navy, Valiant Shield focuses on cooperation between military branches and on the detection, tracking, and engagement of units at sea, in the air, and on land in response to a wide range of missions.
Carrier Air Wing Fourteen (CVW-14), was a United States Navy aircraft carrier air wing based at Naval Air Station Lemoore, California.
Exercise Mainbrace was the first large-scale naval exercise undertaken by the newly established Allied Command Atlantic (ACLANT), one of the two principal military commands of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). It was part of a series of NATO exercises jointly commanded by Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic Admiral Lynde D. McCormick, USN, and Supreme Allied Commander Europe General Matthew B. Ridgeway, U.S. Army, during the fall of 1952.
Airborne Command & Control Squadron 113 (VAW-113), known as "Black Eagles", was established on 20 April 1967 flying the E-2A Hawkeye.
Electronic Attack Squadron 138 (VAQ-138), also known as the "Yellow Jackets", is an expeditionary EA-18G Growler squadron of the United States Navy based at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington.
Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 112 (VAW-112) is an inactive United States Navy squadron. It was nicknamed the "Golden Hawks". VAW-112 flew the E-2C Hawkeye out of NAS Point Mugu and last deployed in 2013 as part of Carrier Air Wing 9 (CVW-9) on board USS John C. Stennis.
Carrier Strike Group 3 is a U.S. Navy carrier strike group. Carrier strike groups gain and maintain sea control as well as project naval airpower ashore. The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) is the group's current flagship. Other units assigned as of 2024 include Carrier Air Wing Nine, the Arleigh Burke-class destroyersUSS O'Kane (DDG-77), USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG-121), and USS Spruance (DDG-111), which are part of Destroyer Squadron 21.
Commander, Carrier Strike Group FOUR is the U.S. Fleet Forces Command formation charged with training and certifying Atlantic Fleet Carrier Strike Groups, Amphibious Ready Groups, and independently deploying surface ships. Its mission is to "Conduct safe and effective Strike Force Training of the Atlantic Fleet."
Foal Eagle is a combined field training exercise (FTX) conducted annually by the Republic of Korea Armed Forces and the United States Armed Forces under the auspices of the Combined Forces Command. It is one of the largest military exercises conducted annually in the world. Foal Eagle has been a source of friction with the government of Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and domestic ROK critics.
Carrier Strike Group Seven was a U.S. Navy carrier strike group active from October 2004 until 30 December 2011. The strike group's antecendants included two previous aircraft carrier formations, Carrier Division Seven and Carrier Group Seven. Its heritage thus includes the Second World War, the Vietnam War, and the Cold War, as well as the first and the second Persian Gulf wars, encompassing a total of 34 deployments to the Western Pacific Ocean and Persian Gulf.
Carrier Strike Group Three 2004–2009 operations included a world cruise, three western Pacific (WESTPAC) deployments and a change-over of its flagship. During this period, CARSTRGRU-3 provided combat operational support for Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom – Afghanistan (OEF-A) as well as participated such major exercises as Valiant Shield 2007, Key Resolve/Foal Eagle 2009, and Northern Edge 2009. The strike group's 2005 WESTPAC deployment marked the final overseas mission for Sea Control Squadron 33 (VS-33), the Screwbirds. Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 71 (HSM-71), a new component to Carrier Air Wing Nine (CVW-9), became the first squadron of its kind to embark on board a carrier as part of a carrier air wing when it operated with Carrier Strike Group Three during its 2009 WESTPAC deployment
Carrier Strike Group Seven 2004–2006 operations included one deployments to the U.S. Fifth Fleet, and its embarked carrier air wing flew approximately 2940 air sorties in support of ground forces in Iraq and Afghanistan while CARSTRKGRU-7 surface warships supported theater security and maritime interdiction operation within that fleet's area of responsibility. It also participated in Valiant Shield 2006, a major joint military exercise of the U.S. Pacific Command. Finally, Carrier Strike Group Seven provided humanitarian assistance after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. Prior to being re-designated as Carrier Strike Group Seven on 1 October 2004, Carrier Group Seven (CarGru-7) and its John C. Stennis Carrier Battle Group participated in three different exercises during Summer Pulse 2004, a multi-carrier surge deployment to test the U.S. Navy's then-new Fleet Response Plan.
Summer Pulse 2004 (SP04) was the codename for a worldwide surge deployment that served as the first full-scale test of the United States Navy's then-new Fleet Response Plan (FRP). During Summer Pulse 2004, a total of seven carrier strike groups were underway at the same time in five different Numbered fleet areas of responsibility. This number of underway carrier strike groups had not been matched since the six carrier battle groups deployed during Operation Desert Storm. In addition to the carriers, the Navy also deployed 17 submarines and one submarine tender.
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This article incorporates public domain material from Northern Edge History. United States Air Force.