NAVAL AIR STATION-JOINT RESERVE BASE FORT WORTH, Texas -- As U.S. forces fight alongside foreign allies, difficulties sometimes arise due to the diversity of equipment, procedures, weapons and fighting doctrine employed by various nations.
From Sept. 26 through Oct. 6, Fort Worth, Texas based Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 112 of Marine Aircraft Group 41, will be in England taking part in Exercise Urgent Quest, a multinational exercise testing new technology and procedures the unpredictability in operations with foreign coalitions, according to VMFA-112 operations officer and aviator Maj. Dan Dewhirst.
VMFA-112 will be joined by elements from the 2nd Marine Division and the U.S. Army 1st Cavalry Regiment and several other famous air and ground units from eight countries including soldiers from the French Foreign Legion and Scotland’s Black Watch Regiment. Together the coalition will promote standardized operational procedures, including communication, maneuver and fire support between allied nations.
The main focus of the two-week exercise will be air-to-ground and ground missions testing Battlefield Target Identification Devices (BTID), Radio Based Combat Identification (RBCI), Optical Combat Identification System (OCIDS) and Radio Frequency Tags (RF Tags). The new equipment should provide a reliable means of identifying friendly ground forces to allied combat aircraft without revealing themselves to the enemy.
“Ground troop identification is crucial on today’s battlefield,” said Capt. Kevin M. (Peanut) McDonald, an F/A-18A+ pilot with VMFA-112, “and we are just happy to help develop that technology.”
During the exercise, Allied Command Transformation will conduct training with the prototype NATO Combat Identification Training System (CITS) with selected unit representatives who will then conduct training of all personnel in the system.
To take part in the exercise, VMFA-112 is sending four F/A-18A+ Hornets, eight pilots, two forward air controllers, and 35 enlisted Marines to England. The squadron will be housed at Royal Air Force Boscombe Down.
Lead elements from the squadron departed Fort Worth for England on Monday with the rest to follow during this week. The squadron will remain in England until early October. Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 234, also a MAG-41 unit, used their KC-130T Hercules cargo aircraft to assist in transporting equipment and ground personnel overseas.
The deployment is yet another opportunity for the Cowboys to display their skills and utilize the advanced technology for which they’re known.
In 2004 the Cowboys became the first Reserve Marine squadron to deploy on a Western Pacific exercise since the Korean War. Recently the Cowboys deployed to Oerland Main Air Station, Norway, for the multinational exercise Battle Griffin. The Cowboys were also one of the very first Reserve Marine fighter attack squadrons to receive the new AIM-9X Sidewinder (Air Intercept Missile).
“This is a great opportunity to showcase 112’s expertise in digital close air support,” said exercise participant Maj. Chris L. Koelzer, an F/A-18A+ pilot with VMFA-112.
The Coalition Combat Identification Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration, or CCID ACTD, as the exercise is called, will take place in England at the Westdown Camp, Army Training Estate, Salisbury Plain.