Roving Sands
ROVING SANDS has been an annual exercise since 1989. Due to budget constraints and real-world missions, it is held as a full-scale event every other year. The world's largest air and missile defense exercise, ROVING SANDS' emphasis is on the joint and combined interoperability of joint forces air component command (JFACC), joint missile defense command and air area defense command.
Roving Sands 95
ROVING SANDS 95 involved German and Dutch air defense units and provided invaluable interoperability training with the air defense forces of those two nations.
Roving Sands 2000
Roving Sands '00 was a joint tactical exercise made up of several internal exercises: Purple Dragon '00, Purple Caduceus '00, Coherent Joint Fires, and Joint Logistics Over the Shore. Each exercise was different because each focused on different aspects, but there was the common scenario that tied them together. Included were medical evacuations, re-supplying units, airborne and air assault operations, missile defense and joint fires.
More than 18,700 service members from all branches of the U.S. military and numerous other nations participated in ROVING SANDS 2000. ROVING SANDS linked five exercises under one umbrella in locations throughout the United States - a joint theater air and missile defense exercise, joint forcible entry operations, joint medical evacuation, joint logistics over-the-shore and coherent joint fires initiative. The first four exercises were held on Southwestern and Southeastern training ranges from June 14 to 23. The final event was the Coherent Joint Fires Initiative which will demonstrate joint-forces capabilities to plan, coordinate and execute fires within an area of operations."
Fort Bliss was the epicenter for air defense operations in RS 00. Over 5,000 service members are training in the El Paso desert testing their capabilities with troops from the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany and the Netherlands. Actual "enemy" aircraft flew over the training areas as targets for troops below. This allowed the air defense people to see it, recognize it and make decisions on how to shoot it down. Soldiers on the ground will be using live-fire air defense equipment such as the Patriot and Stinger missile systems.
Also at Fort Bliss, Texas, the U.S. Army built its largest telecommunications network for the exercise. An old blood bank was transformed into one of the most sophisticated communications centers in the Army, officials at Fort Bliss said. The telecommunication's center was set up to aid in the speed of communications between units participating in RS 00. This center simultaneously provides data, voice and video-teleconference networks for the exercises.
This is the first time the military tied all the exercises together like they would be in a combat zone. Everyone from commanders to soldiers in foxholes can get the information they need. They can even call home if they want to. And none of this was available 10 years ago.
The joint task force for the exercise was headquartered at the joint warfare center in Suffolk, Va. The lead element is the 18th Airborne Corps. Exercises were also conducted in Fort Lejeune, N.C. consisting of airborne, air assault and amphibious operations. This is going on under the name of PURPLE DRAGON 00 and is part of RS 00. Exercises also took place at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., Barksdale Air Force Base, La., and Fort Story, Va. Approximately 500 multinational military forces from Canada, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom participated in RS 00. The purpose of the exercise is to provide deployable forces with a better understanding of joint and combined operations.
Roving Sands 2001
The largest joint and combined air defense exercise in the world took place in the Southern United States 6-29 June 2001. The Roving Sands 2001 exercise was designed to test the interoperability of joint forces with those of allied countries. Participating countries have contracts with the United States and will be using similar air defense systems. Two new systems were also used in simulation to determine how they would function in a combined forces environment. The Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) system, which effectively doubles the firepower of a Patriot missile Battery, along with the Theatre High Altitude Air Defense (THAAD) System, is used for long-range air defense, while Stinger missiles defends at shorter distances. In conjunction, the defensive umbrella the systems create should effectively protect against all air attacks.
The mock nations of Sabira and Dahib both had similar air defense equipment and strategies. Allied forces supported the weaker nation of Sabira, challenging themselves by employing, for the first time, a Deep Operations Coordination Cell (DOCC) to eliminate the defensive umbrella they created by sending in aircraft from California, Wisconsin, Virginia, Florida and Louisiana.
The Patriot missile has seen vast improvement since its use in the Persian Gulf War. According to Lockheed Martin, the developers of the PAC-3, it is the most lethal missile system in the world for intercepting and destroying tactical ballistic missiles and air threats.
The HQ, Extended Air Defense Task Force played an integral role in the success of this exercise. The HQ's deployed key personnel to both Barksdale, LA and to Ft. Bliss, TX. In Barksdale, LA personnel from the HQ's integrated into the command and control structure of the 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command. This involved participation in several critical tasks. Personnel from the HQs assisted in the development of air defense designs as part of the plans section. As part of the Active Defense section, monitored the current operations and adjusted the defense design as required by the tactical situation. Another key role in the air defense arena is intelligence. The HQ, EADTF Intelligence Officer supported the exercise providing detailed analysis of threat activities.
MAJ Kyle Kolthoff, Plans Officer at the HQ, EADTF stated "It was a great opportunity for us to support the 32nd AAMDC and the exercise as a whole. We were able to provide insight into international planning factors, and we observed some key planning and operational methods that may be incorporated into our HQ's." Another role for the HQ's was carried out at Ft. Bliss, TX. Personnel deployed to Ft. Bliss as an interoperability team to view the tactical and operational level units. This team was able to move around the Ft. Bliss "battlefield" and identify any troubles or concerns by the units.
Roving Sands 2002
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