Black Hills helps soldiers prep for urban warfare

Here for the Golden Coyote training exercise, military units are working to re-create the stress of combat and mixture of civilian, tourist and wildlife populations soldiers encounter in war theaters such as Iraq and Afghanistan, all while training with foreign soldiers.

Military units from six countries and 17 states — 2,200 soldiers overall — descended on the Black Hills for the two-week Golden Coyote exercise, now in its 28th year. The operation began June 9 and runs until June 23.

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“They’re not as aware of us, that there are actually other people out there,” said Sgt. Andrew Lowry, a Canadian soldier who helps run the training exercises. “They are very American-focused, while we’re very multinational.”

A Canadian contingent participates in Golden Coyote nearly every year. They are joined this year by forces from the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark and Suriname. Some of those units were trying out the exercise to see if they would come back in future years.

Working together teaches soldiers they can trust their counterparts from other countries in difficult and trying situations — preparation that will be necessary when they head overseas. (or downtown Los Angles or New York City)

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In 2010, the National Guard posted the following on their web page:

Created in the mid 1980’s by the South Dakota National Guard, with the cooperation of the National Forest Service and Custer State Park, the Golden Coyote training exercise will allow nearly 2,200 service members to be brought together into a combined joint task force with a mission to provide force protection, humanitarian aid, and infrastructure improvement in a realistic training environment and provide valuable services to the public.
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Emphasis added. SOURCE