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Northern Strike training in Michigan sharpens joint readiness in combat and cyber domains while injecting $38 million into Michigan’s economy and strengthening national defense.
Featured Image: U.S. Airmen from various installations assigned to the 22nd Air Task Force disembark a C-130J Super Hercules assigned to the 815th Airlift Squadron, on the flight line during Exercise Northern Strike 25-2 (NS 25-2) at Battle Creek Air National Guard Base, Michigan, Aug. 8, 2025. NS 25-2 tested multi-component and partner forces through a challenging, realistic, and dynamic scenario?based on global security challenges and theoretical future conflicts.?Northern Strike is a premier reserve component training event that focuses on joint readiness training to build?interoperability and strengthen partnerships in an all-domain environment. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Robert Nichols)
Northern Strike Training in Michigan bolsters readiness in joint combat domains
Grayling, Mich. — Northern Strike Michigan, the Department of Defense’s largest annual reserve-component readiness exercise, is underway across Northern Michigan through August 16, 2025, involving over 7,500 military personnel from 36 states and nine international partners.
The exercise takes place within Michigan’s National All?Domain Warfighting Center, centered on Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center and the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, and extending into the Grayling Air Gunnery Range, Rogers City Quarry, Lake Huron, Selfridge, Fort Custer, and K.I. Sawyer Airfields.
In a July press release, Col. Todd Fitzpatrick, land exercise director, said Northern Strike Michigan “fully reflects the realities service members are facing on today’s modern battlefield,” with full-scale integration of defense innovators, academia, and foreign partners. The training focuses on multilayered operations, from cyber and electromagnetic warfare to close air support and logistic sustainment.
Traffic congestion is expected on Michigan roads on August 2 and August?16, with a range of aircraft visible throughout the lower peninsula.
For Michigan, the event provides tangible economic advantages: annual military pay, spending on travel, and local expenditures bring an estimated $38?million into the state’s economy Michigan+2WDIV+2.
Integrating modern warfare readiness with Michigan’s strategic advantages and local investment
Northern Strike Michigan capitalizes on Michigan’s terrain, airspace, and infrastructure. Camp Grayling, covering 147,000 acres and housing live?fire ranges, and Alpena CRTC, with vast airspace and training facilities, are ideal for coordinated, joint, multi-domain exercises.
The exercise’s economic uplift echoes earlier years, with a Michigan Business press report citing $30?million in local annual benefit, though current estimates have risen.
Northern Strike Michigan expands global military collaboration and domain interoperability
Northern Strike Michigan builds global readiness. This year’s $38?million?plus exercise again reinforces the state’s importance to national defense strategy. It also enhances interoperability through allied participation and academic-innovation integration, representing a sustained investment in Michigan’s role in U.S. defense.
Related news
- “Northern Strike is Underway in Michigan” — Michigan Department of Military & Veterans Affairs (July?28,?2025)
- “Here’s why there could be a massive military presence…” — ClickOnDetroit (Aug?2,?2025)
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