SACEX (supporting arms coordination exercise)

SACEX is the abbreviation for supporting arms coordination exercise. It is a named exercise type in NATO's standardized exercise vocabulary, listed alongside categories such as PHIBEX (amphibious exercise) and SAREX (search and rescue exercise). NATO's glossary of abbreviations also records the term. The exercise centres on the coordination of naval surface fire support, artillery, mortars and close air support in amphibious and joint operations.

The focus of a SACEX is process, not firepower. The main training audience is the group of agencies that coordinate and deconflict fires, rather than the ships, batteries and aircraft that deliver them. United States Navy and Marine Corps units use the exercise to practise, and be graded on, passing control of fires from ship to shore. Canada is a NATO member, and the alliance is built on collective defence, so allied exercise labels like this one form part of the training language Canadian forces work within.

What a SACEX Trains: SACC, FSCC and DASC

Supporting arms are the fire support systems that sit outside the ground maneuver units but enable and protect them. In an amphibious operation, the supporting commander first holds overall control and coordination responsibility for naval surface fire support, air support and artillery. That responsibility passes ashore to the supported commander once the landing force has established the necessary facilities and the tactical situation permits.

The U.S. Marine Corps Direct Air Support Center Handbook names the principal coordinating agencies. The Supporting Arms Coordination Center (SACC) is a single location aboard an amphibious command ship where the communication facilities for coordinating artillery, air and naval gunfire are centralized. It is the naval counterpart of the landing force's Fire Support Coordination Center (FSCC). The Direct Air Support Center (DASC) directs air operations that support ground forces directly. A SACEX tests whether these agencies work together under realistic conditions.

Objectives and Phases of the Exercise

A RAND technical report on alternatives to the Vieques range describes a SACEX as first and foremost a rehearsal-level skill development exercise. It sets three high-level objectives: skill development, confidence building and readiness evaluation. The exercise is graded, and an amphibious ready group and Marine expeditionary unit must complete it as part of pre-deployment certification.

The amphibious assault in a SACEX runs in three phases: preparation of the objective, the landing, and post-landing operations. Naval surface fire support and close air support cover the first two phases. Artillery and mortars begin providing fires in post-landing operations. The coordinating agencies perform three functions throughout: controlling fires from ship, passing control from ship to shore, and controlling fires from shore.

Where and How SACEX Has Been Conducted

In U.S. practice a SACEX normally comes near the end of the Inter-Deployment Training Cycle, as part of a Joint Task Force Exercise. Historically the venues were Vieques Island, Puerto Rico, and Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. A U.S. military photograph from Vieques shows Marines from Camp Lejeune landing at Blue Beach during a SACEX. A SACEX has also been held at San Clemente Island, California.

The exercise also sits inside Marine expeditionary unit workups. A Marine Corps video description of the 26th MEU's Composite Training Unit Exercise explains that a SACEX lets the unit practise controlling assaults using naval gunfire from the sea, land-based munitions and airborne weaponry. A 24th MEU release describes a SACEX as a planning process followed by rehearsals and then the live event, before the unit moves on to its special operations capable certification exercise. In 2010 the 26th MEU and British forces from 29 Commando, Royal Artillery, also held a SACEX at Camp Lejeune as part of a bilateral exercise, so the format works for allied participation.

What SACEX Means for Canadian Suppliers

SACEX is a label for a type of training event, not a product or service category. A bid team that sees the term in a defence training or operational support requirement should read it as an exercise built around coordinating naval gunfire, artillery, mortars and air support. The practical needs follow from that: range access and safety arcs for live fire, airspace for aircraft, and reliable communications between ships, shore agencies and aircraft.

Check the statement of work to see whether the requirement supports the coordinating agencies or the firing units, since the exercise is aimed at the coordinators. NATO also maintains partnerships with other countries, and multinational participation is common in allied exercises, so expect interoperability to matter in any related requirement.