Marine Forces Reserve, New Orleans -- When field temperatures drop as low as 5 degrees, things start to break down. Water in CamelBaks and canteens freeze, batteries for gear lose energy, and moving from point to point takes longer as Marines struggle to maintain energy and warmth.
It’s a tough reality that Marines from 2nd Battalion, 25th Marine regiment found themselves facing as they began their first round of cold weather training in preparation for their upcoming deployment to Norway as part of the multinational exercise Cold Response 2010.
After receiving their cold weather gear issue and classroom training in October, the Marines found themselves conducting their first cold weather pre-deployment training at the Vermont National Guard’s Camp Ethan Allen Firing Range Dec. 10-12. Camp Ethan Allen is a harsh training environment composed mainly of snow-covered mountains and hills used to train military personnel in the art of cold weather and mountain operations, providing an excellent training area for the Norway-bound Marines.
“The idea is to get Marines outside and work and live in an environment similar to Norway,” said Sgt. Bradley Kramer, one of three mountain warfare instructors from the Marine Corp’s Mountain Warfare Training Center (MWTC), Bridgeport, Calif., who will also be deploying with the Marines to Norway. “We want them to familiarize themselves with this type of terrain.”
The Marines kicked off the training weekend with refresher classes from the instructors. After the class the Marines squared away their packs and began the 4km hike to their campsite for the weekend. During the movement, the Marines received their first lesson in cold weather training as some found themselves burdened by the weight of bringing far too many layers of warm clothing and comfort gear as well as hauling the Marine Corps Cold Weather Kit sleds loaded with 50 pounds of essential camping gear.
“It’s been awhile since we humped with full gear, so now we know maybe not to bring as much extra gear. The sleds were also tough, but we definitely showed our teamwork in getting them to the site,” said Cpl. Henry Stemler, an acting platoon sergeant with Company F, 2nd Bn., 25th Marines.
The Marines quickly established their camp site as night approached and prepared themselves for night patrols. Carrying isomats and snow shoes, the Marines conducted a quick patrol under the watchful eyes of the MWTC instructors and learned other lessons about cold weather training; how moving in cold weather takes longer and how to adjust to wearing the extreme cold weather boots.
“In the cold weather you have to be slow moving and keep close dispersion; otherwise it’s easy for Marines to get lost or hurt,” said Stemler. “But you also have to try to keep your tactics the same as much as possible. You adapt to the environment. The environment doesn’t adapt to you.”
The next day the Marines broke down the camp and began their movement back to the initial staging site. After dropping their gear, the Marines broke off into squads and practiced squad drills, allowing individual squad leaders the opportunity to assess the abilities of their respective squads in the cold environment.
“We wanted to give the squad leaders some face time with their Marines,” said Staff Sgt. Chad Marquette, one of the MWTC instructors. “This (cold weather operations) is very much a small unit leader’s fight and squad leaders need to be able to develop tactical soundness for their squads.”
After completion of the training, the instructors spoke positively of the reservists’ performance out in the field.
“Reservists have less time than their active-duty counterparts to work together and work with their gear,” said Marquette. “They did a good job, especially considering the last training they had was back in October. Going from traveling on a warm bus to immediately being in a cold environment, is quite impressive.”
Cold Response 2010 is a NATO-sponsored multinational training exercise with the Norwegian Armed forces focused on cold weather maritime/amphibious operations, interoperability of expeditionary forces, and special and conventional ground operations.
The exercise, previously known as Battle Griffin, will occur entirely north of the Arctic
Circle and will emphasize individual and unit cold weather capabilities. The last time U.S. Marines participated in the exercise was 2005. Cold Response will be the first deployment for the battalion since returning from a deployment to Iraq earlier this year.