Southern Strike Exercise Prepares Special Operators

Two hundred members of the 1st Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field, Fla., are participating in exercise Southern Strike with the Mississippi National Guard at the Gulfport Combat Readiness Training Center and Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center, Miss. The exercise began Oct. 22, according to a press release, and is focused on preparing the special operators to deploy overseas. Participants have received combat arms training and have practiced clearing buildings. “The planning and support team from the 1st Special Operations Mission Support Group and 1st Special Operations Air Operations Squadron have been spectacular,” said Lt. Col. John Ross, director of operations. “The experience of [Southern Strike] will pay dividends later on in each person’s career.”