Thirty-four New York Nationwide Guard Airmen from the 109th Airlift Wing and the 106th Rescue Wing teamed up with Denmark’s Joint Arctic Command throughout a search and rescue train in Greenland from Nov. 3 to Nov. 9, 2021. The 109th Airlift Wing, which flies the biggest plane on this planet outfitted to land on snow or ice, operates often in Greenland, resupplying science amenities there from Greenland’s Kangerlussuauq Worldwide Airport. The 109th Airlift Wing, primarily based at Stratton Air Nationwide Guard Base outdoors Schenectady, New York, deployed one LC-130 ski-equipped plane and 17 personnel, whereas the 106th Rescue Wing, primarily based at Gabreski Air Nationwide Guard Base in Westhampton Seashore on Lengthy Island, deployed an HC-130J search and rescue plane together with 17 personnel.
The search and rescue train, referred to as Arctic Mild, included components from the Royal Danish Air Power, the Danish Particular Operations Command and Denmark’s Joint Rescue Coordination Middle which is answerable for search and rescue operations in Greenland. Greenland is a self-governing a part of the Kingdom of Demark, so the Danish navy is answerable for defending the island. The train centered on the flexibility to activate, deploy and redeploy capabilities throughout the Arctic. As items arrived in Greenland, they acquired duties from the Joint Arctic Command to help within the search and rescue mission. The coaching situation referred to as for Danish personnel to conduct floor operations following a tsunami which hit Qoornoq, situated on Greenland’s northeastern coast.
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“The mission of the New York Air Nationwide Guard contingent was to drop provides to the Danish troops on the bottom. We had been important to operations for this train. We performed three airdrops between the 109th and the 106th, consisting of survivability rations, tools, and tactical gear. We even dropped a ship for Danish search and rescue personnel. The toughest half about conducting multinational workouts is working by way of the communication barrier. One thing so simple as sending a drop zone survey or studying by way of an air tasking order immediately turns into an enormous activity when digital programs don’t discuss to one another,” mentioned Maj. Christopher Husher, the 109th’s lead train planner mentioned.
Since 1975, the 109th Airlift Wing has operated within the Arctic, cooperating with entities just like the Nationwide Science Basis, in addition to strategic companions like Canada and Denmark. Because the geopolitical panorama modifications, and operations within the area grow to be extra frequent, issues about interoperability between companions in assist of mission effectiveness and security come into sharper focus. In June of 2019, the Division Of Protection up to date its Arctic technique to handle an evolving Arctic safety surroundings as prospects for worldwide competitors within the area start to rise as Arctic seas grow to be extra navigable as a consequence of local weather change. The DOD established three pillars to assist its desired Arctic finish state: construct Arctic consciousness, improve Arctic operations, and strengthen the rules-based-order within the Arctic.
