10th Mountain Division Soldiers train with HIMARS
Staff Sgt. Michael Reinsch
10th Mountain Division Public Affairs
FORT DRUM, N.Y. (April 12, 2019) – Soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division (LI) kicked off early April with their annual Summit Strike, a division-level exercise designed to train Army and Air Force partners as well as subordinate maneuver units.
The exercise trains Soldiers and airmen to use aerial intelligence to call in precision artillery strikes, which are supported by ground troops. They also train in managing combat airspace and owning the electromagnetic domain.
“We executed a division-level exercise that is designed to showcase the division’s ability to integrate surface fires, air fires, and electronic warfare assets in high-intensity conflict,” said Maj. Brian Dermody, 10th Mountain Division Artillery executive officer. “We have incorporated assets from the Army and the Air Force to train our organization with live fires in order to better prepare ourselves to fight against an enemy with these exact actions in combat.”
More than 400 service members from Fort Drum participated in the training. Soldiers from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, added support by operating the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS.
A HIMARS is a truck that is armed with several rockets that can hit targets more than 150 miles away. As part of the exercise, the HIMARS fired at simulated targets on the Fort Drum training area.
For this particular event, the HIMARS fired more than 30 rockets, which were supported by a salvo of 150 mm and 155 mm Howitzer artillery cannon fire.
“This allows us to put what we’ve trained up for in the last three exercises into play with real assets, real pilots, real artillery pieces firing live rounds and live rockets,” Dermody said. “This training gives us confidence in our equipment and confidence in our procedures so we are capable of doing this when the time arises.”
Not only does this event train Soldiers on the ground, but it also gives the division the opportunity to train those who see the battlefield from a bird’s-eye view.
“This event allows us to train our division staff, our Division Artillery, our combat aviation brigade as well as our Air Force partners to employ all of these assets in a live scenario in preparation for combat operations,” Dermody said.
For every unit in the military, it’s important to ensure Soldiers and other service members are prepared for any call to action. As battlefields evolve over time, service members have to stay up-to-date on how to fight in those battle spaces.
“Today’s battlefield requires Army forces to penetrate cyberspace-electromagnetic defenses, locate concealed enemy systems, and fight artillery forward in order to mass precision fires from both the air and the ground, all while maintaining relentless tempo in order to shatter the enemy’s will,” said Maj. Gen. Walter E. Piatt, 10th Mountain Division (LI) and Fort Drum commander.
For Dermody, this was a unique opportunity not only for him but also for the Soldiers in his unit. And, after seeing his unit and the other service members involved, he’s confident in their abilities.
“The division as a whole and a lot of the lead planners for this exercise have done a phenomenal job and executed this training flawlessly,” Dermody said.