Northern Strike returns to the CRTC in Alpena
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ALPENA – Thousands of service members will again fill the skies and ground in Northeast Michigan. Next week, the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center will host Northern Strike 26-2, the summer edition of one of the Department of War's largest reserve component readiness exercises.
More than 9,000 military personnel from 36 states and territories, joined by five international participants, will train Aug. 3-14 across the Michigan National Guard's National All-Domain Warfighting Center. That complex centers on Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center and the Alpena CRTC, along with their associated special-use airspace, according to a July 21 press release from the Michigan Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.
The exercise emphasizes Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control, Combined Arms Live-Fire Exercises, Cyberspace and Electromagnetic Activities, Defensive Cyberspace Operations, and contested sustainment and logistics aimed at preparing forces for large-scale combat operations. This year's version expands homeland defense and force protection training through integrated counter-unmanned aircraft systems operations backed by more than 28 fixed-wing aircraft flying force protection, aerial refueling and support missions.
Medical teams will practice the En-Route Patient Staging System, preparing simulated casualties for aeromedical evacuation while delivering critical care in flight. On Lakes Michigan and Huron, maritime training will focus on protecting high-value assets, integrating unmanned surface vehicles, and conducting target acquisition in both near-shore and open-water settings. The Joint Personnel Recovery Agency will work with units to test emerging combat search, rescue and recovery capabilities and establish an Expeditionary Port Mortuary.
Additional sites include the Rogers City quarry, Battle Creek and Selfridge Air National Guard bases, Oscoda-Wurtsmith Airfield and K.I. Sawyer Airfield in Marquette.
For Alpena, the arrival of Northern Strike means a familiar surge of activity at the CRTC and in the surrounding community. In recent summer iterations, hundreds of personnel have operated from the base, more than 700 during the 2024 exercise and roughly 750 in 2022, according to information published by the Michigan National Guard), conducting air operations, parachute drops, rapid runway repair, homeland defense scenarios, counter-maritime work and urban terrain training.
Alpena CRTC Chief of Staff Brian Wyrzykowski has described the exercise as a natural fit for the region.
"Northern Strike brings the Army and the air together, along with industry partners, international partners as well," Wyrzykowski said during the 2025 event. "We come together for a large-scale exercise, working together as a joint force towards common goals and objectives."
That joint approach is central to this year's training.
"Northern Strike has become a proving ground for how the joint force will fight in the future," said U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Paul D. Rogers, adjutant general and director of the Michigan Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. "Michigan's National All-Domain Warfighting Center offers commanders an unmatched environment to integrate joint and allied forces, evaluate emerging technologies and train under realistic conditions across every operational domain. The lessons learned here strengthen our nation's readiness while reinforcing Michigan's role as a leader in military innovation and all-domain warfighting."
Col. Todd Fitzpatrick, land exercise director for Northern Strike, underscored the need to keep pace with changing threats.
"The character of warfare continues to evolve at an unprecedented pace, and our training must evolve with it," Fitzpatrick said. "Northern Strike brings together operational forces, allied partners and emerging capabilities in an environment that reflects the complexity of today's battlefield. Whether countering UAS, integrating autonomous technologies and live intelligence collection or conducting large-scale joint operations, every training event is designed to strengthen interoperability, accelerate innovation and ensure our forces are prepared for the missions they'll face tomorrow."
Beyond readiness, the exercise delivers a measurable economic lift. Northern Strike generates an average of $44 million annually for Michigan, according to the press release from Kroll, through military pay, travel and local spending across northern Michigan – money flows into Alpena-area hotels, restaurants, retailers, and service businesses during the two-week window.
Local support has long been viewed as essential. In 2022, then-Northern Strike land component exercise director U.S. Army Lt. Col. Adam Jenzen credited the region's communities for the exercise's growth.
"The local communities of Northern Michigan have been critical in growing Northern Strike over the last decade," Jenzen said. "The patriotism and support they continue to provide has truly helped amplify the readiness of the men and women who serve our state and nation."
Motorists should plan for heavier military traffic on Michigan roads Saturday and Aug. 15 as personnel and equipment move to and from Camp Grayling. Increased aircraft activity is expected throughout the Lower Peninsula while training missions are underway.
Northern Strike began in 2012 as a regional event and has grown into a Joint National Training Capability-accredited exercise involving Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, Space Force, National Guard, Reserve, interagency and international partners.
Information for this story is drawn primarily from the July 21st press release by Michael Kroll, deputy public information officer for the Michigan Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS), and prior Alpena News reporting.