Northern Strike, the annual training exercise that brings military units from across the U.S. and beyond to the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, has been a welcome part of Northeast Michigan for years.

The main purpose of the exercises is to make sure our military is ready to protect us at a moment’s notice and to foster relationships across states and nations.

But the benefits go beyond that.

The exercises also bring hundreds of visitors to the region, many of whom stay in our hotels or use their free time to shop in our establishments.

So we were pleased to see the military expand the Northern Strike into the winter months, in a training operation called Winter Strike that brings many of the same national and international partners to Northeast Michigan to learn how to fight and rescue in the snow and the ice.

Doing so only extends the benefits of Northern Strike throughout the year.

The more the merrier, we say.

(THE ALPENA NEWS)