GULFPORT, Miss. - It's been said that military jet noise is the sound of freedom. Along the Gulf Coast this past week, the 12th annual Southern Strike exercise is running and gunning. “It’s the best sound in the world,” said Col. Luke Teel, commander of the 4th Fighter Wing out of Seymour Johnson AFB in North Carolina. "(A) lot of people go into putting that sound up in the air ... and it’s ringing over the skies of South Mississippi.” Jet noise also sounds like a $17M economic boon for the state. However, the main goal of Southern Strike is to prepare to defend the country’s interest in a more challenging environment. “Success for us is flexing the muscles of Agile Combat Employment,” Teel said, “and that is operating over long distances in different locations" with personnel and equipment. Southern Strike is a large-scale joint multinational combat exercise hosted by the Mississippi National Guard with the forward operating base at the Combat Readiness Training Center in Gulfport. There's a new international partner: The Belgian Air Force (BAF). Cmdr. Stijn DeGroof of the Belgian Air Force came to Gulfport last December to help organize the exercise. “(T)he first thing that I remarked was the flexibility, the can-do mentality of the personnel in Mississippi as well as the Southern hospitality.” Since April 13, the operation has involved almost 2,000 service members from 15+ states and other partner nations. The Southern Strike will continue until April 27. (WLOX 04/21/23) Southern Strike running, gunning and flying to make nation safer (wlox.com)
No comments:
Post a Comment