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Further Reading

Bold Quest 2009: Cherry Point Serves as Nerve Center for International Exercise

US Marine Corps News

11/9/2009
By Cpl. Jennifer Poole, Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point

In combat, knowing the difference between friend and foe can mean life or death.

The ability to accurately identify coalition forces from enemy combatants is crucial in combat effectiveness. Constant testing and improvement of current systems, operations and equipment enables forces on the ground and in the air the ability to identify who is friendly from those who are not.

During Exercise Bold Quest 2009, military personnel from the U.S. and 10 other allied nations assessed coalition combat identification systems aboard Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point and Marine Corps Base Camp Lejuene, Oct. 26 - Nov. 5.

"The assessment was a means of testing systems used to identify enemy, friendly or neutral ground entities to enable the timely, effective and safe employment of weapons," said Lou Durkac, concepts and operations lead and air mission director for the exercise. "With the assessment, the goal is to increase combat effectiveness and decrease the risk of fratricide."

The focus was to test air and ground units’ ability to exchange information while improving pilots’ skill, in differentiating friendly forces on the ground, Durkac said.

The ground maneuver and close air support portions of the exercise took place at Camp Lejuene, and supporting aircraft operated from Cherry Point and other bases on the East Coast, like Langley Air Force Base, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, Naval Air Station Oceana, NAS Patuxent River and Shaw Air Fore Base.

Cherry Point served as the aviation hub for the exercise, providing an air operations center, a refueling point for aircraft and billeting for participants.

"Cherry Point’s mission was to provide air control for all the units spread across the eastern U.S. and serve as a nerve center for air operations supporting Exercise Bold Quest 09," Durkac said.

Planning for the exercise aboard the air station began in March, said Maj. Todd Yeats, Cherry Point’s future operations officer.

"This is a great opportunity to assist in training to enable our pilots and ground crews to work simultaneously and assess current coalition combat identification systems," Yeats said.

Yeats said Cherry Point was selected in part because of its proximity to Camp Lejuene, and its a central location to the other participating air bases.

"It’s great to have an airfield with the capabilities that can support the maneuver of operations that were planned out for the exercise," said Tom Lytle, logistics lead for Exercise Bold Quest. "Cherry Point fit all of our criteria because of the great infrastructure already laid out with the operations center, the close proximity to Camp Lejuene, and the support from all the commands on the base."