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Exercise VICTORY HOOLIGAN Held at the North Dakota Air National Guard

  • Published
  • By Chief Master Sgt. David Lipp
  • 119th Wing

FARGO, ND -- Fighter jets returned to the skies over Fargo Tuesday, as the 119th Wing hosted Exercise VICTORY HOOLIGAN on June 8, 2021, at the North Dakota Air National Guard (NDANG) base.

Participants included the 119th Operations Group, with MQ-9 Reaper aircraft; Naval Air Station Oceana aviators, with four F/A-18 Super Hornet aircraft; tactical air control party (TACP) Airmen from the 274th Air Support Operations Squadron; North Dakota Army National Guard (NDARNG) aviators, with UH-60 and UH-72 helicopters; and several other visiting Airmen from various Air National Guard units.

VICTORY HOOLIGAN facilitated joint integration training, which allowed the participating entities to coordinate assets and capabilities to train to best practices to support combatant commanders.

NDARNG helicopters acted as transport for the TACPs and NDANG members participating as ground troops, picking them up on the flight line of the NDANG and carrying them back to the same flight line, which was then considered the simulated battle location drop-off point.

TACPs then got into vehicles simulating a military convoy to locate simulated enemy targets. Upon locating a target, they communicated with the MQ-9 and F/A-18 aircraft to call-in simulated airstrikes to sufficiently affect the target according to commander intent.

The training is an opportunity to rehearse planning and execution as a joint team in a controlled environment to prepare the various exercise participants for scenarios they are likely to encounter in combat. The exercise also allows for after-action discussions to refine future actions.

“It’s an incredible opportunity for us to get a little bit sharper then we were yesterday. One of the pillars of our joint culture in the Operations Group is that shared experiences build teams; Exercise VICTORY HOOLIGAN was an outstanding example of this,” said Col. Ryan Ayers, 119th Operations Group commander. “Planning and training together as a coordinated joint team, accelerates our ability to understand, decide, and act as a joint force, and we look forward to building upon the success of this exercise.”