UNDISCOLOSED LOCATION –
Soldiers from the 28th Infantry Division who are deployed to the Middle East participated in Exercise Juniper Oak 2023 recently.
The Soldiers, who are deployed in support of Task Force Spartan, deployed their division tactical command, or DTAC, during the exercise, which was designed to enhance interoperability between the U.S. and Israeli militaries.
“Attention in the DTAC! Weapons are armed,” called Staff Sgt. Ryan Jimmerson, fires noncommissioned officer with the 28th Infantry Division, Task Force Spartan, communicating to the staff that the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems were ready to fire.
The small staff of Soldiers in the DTAC coordinated communications among a series of different countries, differing levels of command, and across several different units with different mission objectives. Within Task Force Spartan, the DTAC supported aviation, infantry, and field artillery (or fires) assets during their training with the Israel Defense Force.
The HIMARS coordination was a particularly challenging mission, Jimmerson said.
“Our mission is multi-faceted,” said Jimmerson. “Working with our partners in the Air Force, our Joint Tactical Air Control operators, and the Israel Defense Force, we designated targets and coordinated through the HIMARS battery on ground for the fire mission.”
One of the extra wrinkles in the training, was integrating the Israelis into the fires process, said Jimmerson. The fire missions were conducted by both U.S. Army HIMARS and Israeli Multiple Launch Rocket Systems in a combined series of fire missions.
The process of developing the combined fire mission is one that teamed Soldiers from U.S. Central Command, U.S. Army Central, Task Force Spartan, and more, with their Israeli partners. It was a development that required all echelons of command to work within a short time frame to develop the plan and execute the mission in Israel – an added challenge by leaders separated by more than eight-hour time difference.
The ability to plan, deploy, and execute, was demonstrated by the success of the planners leading up to the execution of the mission; but also the skills and expertise of the Soldiers on the ground from Task Force Spartan and the IDF. The combination of fires between the two partner nations demonstrates the collective strength between the two nations, and ways to develop and prepare for the future.
“Attention in the DTAC! End of mission!” called Jimmerson, closing the end of the fire mission, and signaling to the DTAC that another successful mission for Task Force Spartan was in the books.
Exercise Juniper Oak 2023, which concluded on Jan. 26, was the largest U.S.-Israel partnered exercise in history, involving about 6,400 U.S. troops and more than 1,500 Israeli troops, according to a U.S. Central Command press release.