Operation Angry Rattle - Close Air Support

Staff Sgt. Greg Kirk, Idaho Air National Guard 124th Air Support Operations Squadron, communicates with aircraft during a training exercise in Grandview, Idaho, March 16, 2010. 124 ASOS members are training in a simulated attack by coordinating various aircraft to provide support to ground forces, including AH-64 Apache helicopter, A-10 Thunderbolt II's, and F-15 Strike Eagles.

Operation Angry Rattle - Close Air Support

Chief Master Sgt. James McMonigal, Idaho Air National Guard 124th Air Support Operations Squadron, communicates with aircraft during a training exercise in Grandview, Idaho, March 16, 2010. 124 ASOS members are training in a simulated attack by coordinating various aircraft to provide support to ground forces, including AH-64 Apache gunships, A-10 Thunderbolt II's, and F-15 Strike Eagles.

124th ASOS participates in Operation Angry Rattle, a terrorist situational exercise in Grandview, Idaho.

Chief Master Sgt. James McMonigal, left, and Maj. Shawn Scott, both of the Idaho Air National Guard 124th Air Support Operations Squadron participate in training in Grandview, Idaho, March 16, 2010. 124 ASOS members are training in a simulated attack by coordinating various aircraft to provide support to ground forces, including AH-64 Apache gunships, A-10 Thunderbolt II’s, and F-15 Strike Eagles.

Air Support Operations Squadron trains in Grandview, Idaho

Published April 10, 2010
By Tech. Sgt. Becky Vanshur
124 FW Public Affairs

3/16/2010 - GOWEN FIELD, Boise, Idaho -- 124th ASOS participates in Operation Angry Rattle, a terrorist situational exercise in Grandview, Idaho.

On March 16th, in the town Grandview, Idaho, 124th Air Support Operations Squadron performs a terrorist attack training exercise. For this exercise, members of the 124th ASOS acted out the role of insurgents taking over the town, while other members practiced their skills as the defensive force. This training helps 124th ASOS perfect their performance in providing air-to-ground support and communication with several aircraft. The aircraft included the Army AH-64 Apache helicopter, the Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II and F-15 Strike Eagles.

The town of Grandview was kind enough to allow the 124th ASOS to perform these exercises throughout the streets, buildings, river and canals. The reason for this real-world training in the middle of a town was to allow for more dynamic events that would be difficult to experience in an environment like the dessert. One scenario involved the opposing forces attacking the main bridge coming into the town. This bridge is the only way to get supplies from the north to south. This type of training gave the ASOS members experience in a real-world situation.

"Normally we do most of our scenarios out on a range that is very sterile and wide open. There are a lot of tanks that make nice targets for practicing the basics, however we don't often get the chance to train in an urban environment," said Major Shawn Scott from the 124th ASOS. Scott was commander and coordinator of this exercise. "In the real world you have an objective, a reason for going out on a mission and we name each one of them, so this one is Operation Angry Rattle," Scott said.