The South Dakota National Guard will host its 38th annual Golden Coyote training exercise in the Black Hills June 11-25, 2022, to provide military units with relevant training opportunities in support of overseas contingency operations and homeland defense.
Created in 1984 with the cooperation of the National Forest Service and Custer State Park, this year’s exercise will allow about 900 service members to conduct combat-support and service-support missions in a realistic training environment.
There will be 18 military units from 10 states participating in the exercise from the National Guard, Army Reserve and Navy Reserve. Several soldiers from the South American country of Suriname, South Dakota’s State Partnership Program nation, will also be in attendance. Participating units will conduct military operations throughout the region, train on unit missions, employ their equipment, and complete humanitarian and engineer projects.
This year’s exercise includes engineer, medical, logistics, aviation, transportation and maintenance units, and offers opportunities to train on individual and collective tasks and battle drills, combat patrols, urban combat operations, medical first aid, casualty evacuation and convoy operations.
Several units will complete humanitarian missions to transport timber to Native American communities, as well as engineer projects to improve forest infrastructure, trails and roads.
Residents should be aware of an increase in military traffic throughout the region and in the communities of Rapid City, Hill City and Custer and can expect an increase in noise levels due to military training. Aircraft will be operating throughout the area and will respond to real-world emergencies during the exercise and remain in an all-hours-ready status.
The public is asked to remain at a safe distance from all moving military vehicles and aircraft to prevent injury to personnel or damage to property.
Soldiers with the 235th Military Police Company with the South Dakota Army National Guard, assault a mock village at the North Training Area of Camp Guernsey, WY, June 15, 2018. The Golden Coyote training exercise is a three-phase, scenario-driven exercise conducted in the Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming, which enables commanders to focus on mission essential task requirements, warrior tasks and battle drills. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. William Ploeg)
A crew chief for a HH-60M Black Hawk helicopter, U.S. Army Sgt. Jeremy Hubbard, Company C, 1st Battalion, 189th Aviation Regiment, South Dakota Army National Guard, leads a litter carry done by U.S. Army 1138th Engineer Company, Missouri Army National Guard, as they load a casualty into the helicopter during a medical evacuation exercise during the 2019 Golden Coyote Exercise at West Camp Rapid, Rapid City, S.D., June 16, 2019. The Golden Coyote Training Exercise is a three-phase, scenario-driven exercise conducted in South Dakota and Wyoming, which enables commanders to focus on mission essential task requirements, warrior tasks and battle drills. (U.S. Army Reserve photo by Sgt. Gary Silverman)
Timber is loaded onto a trailer for the timber haul mission during the 2019 Golden Coyote Exercise at West Camp Rapid, Rapid City, S.D., June 10, 2019. The Golden Coyote Training Exercise is a three-phase, scenario-driven exercise conducted in South Dakota and Wyoming, which enables commanders to focus on mission essential task requirements, warrior tasks and battle drills. (U. S. Army Reserve photo by Spc. Brittany Clark)
Courtesy image.
