By Troy Skalski Posted in Federal, Manned ISR Training Permalink

A Platoon of U.S. Army Rangers huddled next to a squat building. Somewhere, out there, they knew the enemy waited. The squad had just been ambushed from a distance, the night coming alive moments earlier with unexpected tracer rounds. The Rangers scrambled for cover behind the nearest building, dragging several severely wounded squadmates with them to safety.

Quickly, a member of the squad radioed the manned reconnaissance aircraft operator overhead, asking if he could identify the enemy position. The Rangers then contacted an A-10 for immediate suppression of the target. Finally, the Rangers called for a MEDEVAC helicopter at a nearby landing zone. The responses came back quick, concise and professional. Later, when the training exercise ended, the Rangers asked to meet the crack crews of the ISR aircraft, the A-10, and the MEDEVAC chopper. They were amazed to be greeted instead by a MAG flight crew of pilots and a sensor operator, who had used a single low cost aircraft with sophisticated sensors, video downlinks and multiple tactical radios to simulate all of the aircraft during the training exercise.

MAG’s Training & Exercise (T&E) Division provided support to training exercises across the United States during 2014. Using low operating cost platforms ready to deploy on short notice, T&E enabled customers to affordably maximize the training of their teams.

Nate Holton, MAG T&E Director, is an ISR instructor who is eagerly sought after for his acumen and real world experience. Students have said that Nate and T&E “enhanced the training experience exponentially.”