GRAYLING, Mich.– Tanks fire across training grounds in northern Michigan as thousands of service members practice for a battlefield military leaders say is changing rapidly.More than 9,000 participants from 36 states and territories and five international participants are taking part in Northern Strike 26-2, one of the nation's largest reserve-component military readiness exercises.Northern Strike began in 2012 and is held twice a year.
David Kennedy, a public affairs officer with the Michigan National Guard, said this summer’s exercise is the largest since it began.Brig.Gen.
Ravindra Wagh of the Michigan National Guard said lessons emerging from conflicts around the world are shaping how troops train.US SAYS NORTH KOREA MISSILE LAUNCH POSES NO IMMEDIATE THREAT, 'CONSULTING CLOSELY' WITH ALLIESA U.K.service member takes position during a practice attack at the Northern Strike military exercise in northern Michigan in August 2026.
(Olivianna Calmes)"You see what's happening in Ukraine right now.You see what's happening globally with some of our other emerging conflicts that you see," Wagh said.
"And I think that this is a place where you can test and innovate."Northern Michigan gives troops access to more than 200,000 acres of land, the Great Lakes and air, space and cyber capabilities.The exercise also brings together different military branches and international forces to practice operating alongside one another.A Paladin howitzer sits at a training area during the Northern Strike military exercise in Grayling, Michigan, in August 2026.(Olivianna Calmes)"We want to train with the allies and partners we're going to go to war with," Wagh said.
"We want our soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines to see it here.Figure it out here."Fox News followed troops from the United Kingdom as they moved through a practice attack, one of several combat training exercises taking place during Northern Strike.During another exercise, a crew inside a Paladin howitzer rehearsed a...