MARCH 13, 2026 – On a cloudy winter day at Gray Army Airfield, a series of high-altitude balloons ascended into the stratosphere, marking a significant step forward in building a persistent, all-domain sensor architecture for the Indo-Pacific theater.
These launches, conducted by the Extended Range Sensing and Effects company of the 1st Multi-Domain Effects Battalion are a critical part of Multi-Domain Command – Pacific’s ability to gain positional advantage in the air domain. The HABs contribute to a resilient and integrated network of sensors, from the stratosphere to the seabed, designed to deliver quality targeting data and decision dominance for the Joint Force.
This advanced training, conducted at their home station, underscores the importance of Multi-Domain Home Station Training in building foundational readiness. Over the last six months, the unit has trained over 40 soldiers from across JBLM; the units include: 1st Special Forces Group, 5th Security Forces Assistance Brigade, and the 1st and 16th Weather Squadrons from the U.S. Air Force.
This effort also established the Army High-Altitude Basics Course. Aligned with the Army’s Transformation Initiative, this pioneering program helps lay the foundation for all future U.S. Army high-altitude curriculum.
“We are ambitiously pushing forward to create training programs for our High-Altitude soldiers,” explained Capt. Tyler McWilliam, a High-Altitude Planner with the unit.
“Routine events such as the AHABC, conducted here at home station, have enabled our unit to both maintain individual proficiency and provide more repetitions to leaders to sharpen their HA skills.”
The value of this home station training model was recently proven during the unit’s recent HAB centric exercise. “This exercise marked the first fully autonomous Non-commissioned officer-led event for our unit, proving the concept that this training program works, and that we can apply the eight-step-training model and troop leading procedures to operations as complex as the employment of station-seeking micro-HABs,” said McWilliam.
The training cycle included refresher training on systems like the Urban Sky 16 Gore micro-HAB and the employment of High-Altitude Soldier Transportable Equipment.
These launches signify the restart of routine ballooning from Gray Army Airfield, continuing a legacy of over 100 years of Army ballooning flights. The weather data collected can be shared with joint partners such as the U.S. Air Force’s 1st and 16th Weather Squadrons, as well as civilian agencies.
Looking ahead, the unit plans to leverage its home-grown expertise to benefit the wider force. “The plan for the future is to offer more High-Altitude Basic Courses for service members in other units to spread High-Altitude knowledge across the joint force,” McWilliam said.
As a theater enabling command and a joint force enabler, Multi-Domain Command-Pacific plays a vital role in providing the Joint Force cross-domain solutions designed to create multiple dilemmas and neutralize adversary anti-access and area denial networks.
Story by Staff Sgt. Brandon Rickert
Multi-Domain Command – Pacific