Lt. Gen. Leonīds Kalniņš, the commander of the Joint Headquarters of Latvia, and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer watch events during Northern Strike at Camp Grayling on Monday, Aug. 14, 2023. Northern Strike is a multi-country military training exercise bringing soldiers from a number of U.S. allies, including Latvia, to northern Michigan for weeks of training on land, air and in water. (Kaytie Boomer, MLive.com/TNS)
CAMP GRAYLING, Mich. (Tribune News Service) — As Gov. Gretchen Whitmer spoke with reporters on the deck of Observation Post Five, F-16 Falcon fighter jets circled overhead, the muffled sounds of their engines echoing through the clouds.
Whitmer was on hand to witness the Northern Strike military readiness exercise Monday for the first time as governor, as soldiers from national guards throughout the U.S., along with military allies from allied nations, convened at Camp Grayling for the twice yearly training.
“This is an opportunity for us to really showcase the unique thing that is Camp Grayling, and you look at all of our installations across Michigan, and the airspace that we boast and the kind of tech savvy … this is really a powerful story,” Whitmer said. “Michigan is different than any other state, we know that, but we’ve got to get better at telling our story.”
Interviews concluded, the fighters, simulating airstrikes, descended and began swooping low over targets in the idyllic valley below. They made a few passes close to the observation post, perhaps for the benefit of the crowd, eliciting oohs and ahhs.
Smoke and dirt billows from the ground during Northern Strike in Camp Grayling on Monday, Aug. 14, 2023. (Kaytie Boomer, MLive.com/TNS)
Synergy was top of mind for Whitmer. For her it was an opportunity to simultaneously tout international ties, entice the private defense industry and express gratitude to the troops.
“The National Guard has been at the heart of the work that we’ve done, whether it’s vaccinating people, whether it was evacuating people in a flooding situation, the guard has been absolutely the tip of the spear for us,” Whitmer said. “We got to continue to invest and prioritize the work they’re doing and work closely with the community to make sure that residents feel the benefit of what this what this really has to offer.”
In April Whitmer’s Department of Natural Resources blocked a longstanding proposal to open up an additional 162,000 acres of state land to training for Camp Grayling. It would have doubled the area available for exercises like this.
It had been hotly opposed by area residents, who formed some organized resistance to the idea of the military – and the private defense contractors looking to test their innovations — encroaching on their peace and quiet. Local government and even other administration officials remain resistant to the smaller, restricted expansion that was finalized.
Latvian Special Forces train tactically entering bulidings in a simulated urban environment during Exercise Nothern Strike 2023 on Camp Grayling, Mich., Aug. 14, 2023. (Drake Chandler/U.S. Army National Guard)
Leonīds Kalniņš, the commander of the Joint Headquarters of Latvia — the highest ranking officer in that country’s military — was also on hand to observe the exercises.
This year marks the 30th year of the state’s military partnership with the country in north eastern Europe, and Kalniņš received warm greetings from his counterparts in Michigan. They unveiled a memorial to two fallen Latvian soldiers killed in Afghanistan at Camp Grayling this past weekend and also named a thoroughfare on the base after Latvia.
“This is really not just a partnership, it’s a friendship, and it’s formed in his blood,” Maj. Gen. Paul D. Rogers, the head of Michigan National Guard, said in an interview.
The relationship with Michigan, Kalniņš said, “is not just shak(ing) hands,” but the opportunity to train and “share how we are understanding this main threat from the East in Latvia as well,” referring to Russia.
He also noted, it was an opportunity for Americans in the private sector to showcase defense technologies to Latvian officials they might not otherwise see,
Whitmer said she “absolutely” wanted the opportunity to reap economic benefits for the state. A press release after Whitmer’s visit touted the defense industry’s economic impact through Michigan, from around Grayling to the Detroit Arsenal in Warren.
“This is where we see private sector and public sector working together to strengthen our homeland, strengthen our economy, and to keep people safe,” Whitmer said.
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The Personnel Retrieval and Processing Company, Combat Logistics Battalion 45, headquartered out of Smyrna, Ga., are hoisted in the air by a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter flown by soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, 104th Regiment, Nebraska National Guard during exercise Northern Strike 2023 on Camp Grayling, Mich., Aug. 10, 2023. (Dustin Stewart/U.S. Army National Guard)
