MILITARY & VETERANS AFFAIRS
NEWS RELEASE

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONTACT:

Maj. Yvonne Mays at 609-530-6939 / 609-847-6093 or

Kryn P. Westhoven at 609-530-6950 / 609-847-2215

Spc. Christopher McPherson (left), Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Operator in training, 50th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, New Jersey Army National Guard watches Spc. Christopher Storkamp, UAV Maintainer, 1-34th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, Minnesota Army National Guard perform maintenance on an Shadow 200 RQ-7drone on Aug. 11. New Jersey and Minnesota Army National Guard Soldiers trained at the 177th Fighter Wing's Warren Grove Range to validate the Range's capabilities to support the training and operational needs of Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System (TUAS) units. This training will enable the 50th Brigade Special Troops Battalion TUAS Platoon to be better prepared to receive its Shadow 200 RQ-7 fielding in 2011. The Shadow which is in operational service with the Army and Marine Corps in Iraq and Afghanistan is used to locate, recognize and identify targets more than 70 miles from a tactical operations center. NJARNG Soldiers got to work with the equipment and benefit from the learning of the Minnesota Soldiers, who are among the most proficient TUAS operators in the Army and have significant deployment experience. Photo by Tech. Sgt. Mark Olsen, 177FW/PA.