ANDERSON AIR FORCE BASE GUAM, Guam -- Marine Aircraft Group 12 and its subordinate units returned to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan from Guam and the Mariana Islands Range Complex after completing a multitude of missions during Exercise Valiant Shield 16.
The MAG-12 “Ready Group” operated on Anderson Air Force Base and Tinian with other service members from across the U.S. Pacific Command to focus on integration of joint training in a blue-water environment.
Marine All-Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 242, Marine Wing Support Squadron 171, Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 12 and Marine Aerial Refueler Squadron 152 provided an ample amount of support to the exercise’s aviation heavy Marine Air-Ground Task Force.
“We provided approximately 90 percent of the aircraft and 90 percent of the capabilities,” said U.S. Marine Corps Col. Daniel Shipley, MAG-12 commanding officer and the MAGTF commander during the exercise. “Particularly with the F/A-18 Hornets and KC-130J Super Hercules getting airborne with the Navy and Air Force to provide air defense and air offense during different strike missions while also getting the battlefield prepped for our ground brethren.”
The MAG-12 “Ready Group” established the entire aviation combat element or ACE, for this iteration of Valiant Shield.
The air power to a MAGTF is shaped from the ACE and includes all aircraft, their pilots and maintenance personnel, and those units necessary for aviation command and control. It is one of the four core elements of a MAGTF, which encompasses the principal organization for all missions across the range of military operations.
MAG-12 units supported major events such as the live-fire Sinking Exercise that required munitions from MALS-12 and fire power from F/A-18 Hornets. The Joint Forward Arming and Refueling Point mission that MWSS-171’s expeditionary ground refueling team helped prepare. Offensive air support, air-to-air refueling and a high altitude low opening jump with the Force Reconnaissance Platoon that VMGR-152’s aircraft flew.
Fixed-wing aircraft from MAG-12 allocated approximately 640 flight hours to support over 200 aviation missions for the entire exercise.
These successful events showcase the “Ready Group’s” ability to provide assistance with fixed-wing assets, which are the presumed lead in responding to contingency operations in the area.
“We will be the first to go down range, and if we’re not ready to go forward then no one will be,” said Shipley. “We are the most capable of moving forward to be at the fight in a moment’s notice. Working out here proves we can do that . . . and all of the different services recognize that. It shows where the focus is on the fight in the Pacific rim, and it’s clear that potential enemies have a strength in this area that requires our fixed-wing assets to move forward and handle them if necessary.”
Typically, training evolutions in the Pacific region involve other allied nations, but this biennial field training exercise refines the U.S. military’s ability to present a seamless joint force that preserves security and maintains regional stability.
“Having the airmen, the Marines and the sailors work together to bring a better fighting force was amazing and their ability to break down barriers and communicate together was essential,” said U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Brian Hurley, director for Exercise Valiant Shield 16. “We’re hoping to come back and do better in a joint capacity.”
Lessons learned from exercises like Valiant Shield 16 will assist U.S. forces in developing regional and global power projection capabilities, which provide a full range of options to succeed in defense for the interest of its allies and partners around the world.
Shipley added that Valiant Shield opened the leadership’s eyes to limitations in communications, and that they should remain open and willing to learn what the other services provide.
Considered the largest U.S.-only joint exercise in the Pacific, MAG-12’s participation helped develop each squadron’s operational readiness and set standards for future joint exercises.
“I came to this exercise with high expectations and they didn’t meet them, they surpassed them in every regard,” said Shipley. “I couldn’t be more proud of them.”