HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — The U.S. military continues to test its forward deployment capabilities during this year’s iteration of an exercise called “Valiant Shield.”
Ahead of testing of the Patriot missile defense system in the Republic of Palau later this week, a contingent of Marines fired a High Mobile Artillery Rocket System, a deployable surface-to-surface weapon in the Micronesian nation.
The training was described in a release from the Marine Corps as a rapid infiltration — an operation that typically sees a team, along with a mobile weapons system, being transported via plane to a battle position. Personnel and assets are recovered when their mission is complete.
Last week, Marines and the rocket system were flown from Andersen Air Force Base to Palau using assets from the Air National Guard. This type of operation was possible due to improvements made to the Angaur Airstrip during Task Force Koa Moana in 2020, the release stated.
The 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, based in Camp Pendleton, California fired the rockets on the ground, while command and control for the mission came “from a forward location on Guam,” according to the release.
“(This operation) is the culmination of the targeting process in which, the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System is selected to engage a target,” said Capt. Andrew Richards, Quebec Battery commander, 5th Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment. “This process is based on a multitude of interoperable systems involving intelligence, communications and command and control.”
Valiant Shield organizers clarified for The Guam Daily Post that for this test, a physical target was not destroyed. Instead, a precise coordinate in the water was given for the Marines to shoot, and the accuracy of where the actual missile landed was examined.
The Patriot missile system, which is used as a defensive measure to intercept ballistic missiles, will be tested in Palau in a few days.
Military officials have said repeatedly that expanding the biennial exercise to include Palau helps to demonstrate the U.S. military’s capability to confront a host of threats anywhere.
About 13,000 troops from every branch of the American armed services, including those stationed on two aircraft carriers, are participating in Valiant Shield 2022. Of this group, about 3,000 are expected to be granted some shore leave, officials confirmed.
Portions of the large-scale event will take place in Guam, Palau, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and around the waters designated as the Mariana Island Range Complex. The exercise concludes June 17.
A U.S. Marine Corps High-Mobility Artillery Rocket System launches a reduced range practice rocket on Angaur, Palau on June 8. The event, conducted by the 5th Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, is just one example of the portions of Valiant Shield 2022 occurring in the Republic of Palau. Last week’s testing of a forward commanded, offensive missile strike will be followed by the first-ever use of the Patriot missile defense system in Palau later this week.
