One of the nation’s most elaborate military exercises is under way.
Robin Sage is held in a fictional country dubbed Pineland.
It spreads across more than a quarter of the state’s counties from Raleigh to Charlotte and south almost to the state border.
The two-week exercise is the culmination of training for Army Special Forces candidates before they can graduate from the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School at Fort Liberty, earning their Green Berets. Major Benjamin Franklin is commander of the exercise.
“The future Green Berets, these soldiers in training our mission to liberate Pineland from a hostile power. And then military and civilian role players from the local community combine to play enemy and friendly forces," he wsaid, "And all that creates an immersive exercise that replicates real challenges is that Green Berets will face in their future careers.”
Local governments and law enforcement agencies have been briefed on the exercise and the soldiers will either be in uniform, or wearing special armbands.