A Georgia Air National Guard E-8C JSTARS crew provided ground targeting information to F-16s and Army AH-64 Apache attack helicopters during the multi-state, joint Army and air Guard Exercise Carolina Thunder. “The incorporation of JSTARS is huge,” said South Carolina Army National Guard intelligence officer Capt. Michelle Roberts in a release. “JSTARS provides the overall common operation picture from air-to-ground, and we can use that,” she added. In addition to the Georgia ANG’s 116th Air Control Wing’s JSTARS, South Carolina ANG F-16s practiced suppressing enemy air defenses to pave the way for the Army attack helicopters, during the three-day exercise, Nov. 14-16. “We then provided close air support to troops on the ground and non-traditional ISR,” South Carolina ANG 169th Fighter Wing air operations planner Maj. Ryan Corrigan said in a release. A Tennessee ANG KC-135 tanker supported the air component, and some 650 personnel participated at McEntire JNGB, S.C., and the nearby Savannah River Site training area.
Lt. Gen. Dan Caine, nominee to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the Defense Department needs to upgrade its electronic warfare capability and its EW training ranges; just as his predecessor said at his own confirmation hearing.