Royal Marines have deployed to the ice of the Arctic as the next generation of winter warriors are put through their paces in one of the world’s most extreme environments. All deployed marines have been through a rigorous quarantine period, with UK troops to conduct training in a bubble and in line with the Covid-19 guidelines of host nation, Norway.

Scarcely four hours of daylight and temperatures well into the minus numbers have greeted hundreds of green berets – primarily from Arbroath-based 45 Commando but also from a range of specialist units from around 3 Commando Brigade – as they begin their 2021 winter deployment. Exercises with Norway, the United States, the Netherlands and Germany have been cancelled by the Norwegians due to Covid-19, but crucial training has resumed in the short-term for those who have been through quarantine.

Royal Marines 45 Commando’s Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Innes Catton, said: “45 Commando is currently deployed in Norway conducting essential training as the Lead Commando Unit. As Cold Weather Warfare specialists held at very high readiness, this training is vital to retaining capability to deploy anywhere in the world in the event of crisis and to support our NATO allies in the region. Stringent control measures and quarantine procedures are in place to protect the local population and our people in Norway, as well as our families upon return to the UK.”

Marines are put through their paces by instructors of the Royal Marines Mountain Leader Cadre – a hardy group of commandos highly-trained and experts in all things cold weather – to be ready to survive, move and fight in the freezing conditions.

First, those who are new to the Arctic must undergo a series of intensive trials to ensure they are able to survive – building shelters, living off the land and dealing with cold shock during the infamous ice breaking drills, which involves being plunged into a hole in the ice and climbing out of the water unassisted using ski poles. This brutal part of the training is designed to help participants recognise and reduce the risks of cold shock: a physical response to being immersed in cold water that can rapidly incapacitate and even kill.

Crossing a frozen lake or river can bring a tactical advantage but comes at significant risk, so ice breaking is about preparing for being suddenly dropped into bracing water. After rewarming from their dip through the ice, those on the survival course head into the wilderness to construct and inhabit survival shelters. Half the battle is managing the climate and the terrain. Snow storms can occur suddenly, so learning the basics of survival is key to operating in the Arctic conditions.

The Cold Weather Warfare Course has three phases – survival, mobility and warfare. This creates a well-rounded winter warrior, enabling the commandos to operate effectively in this unforgiving environment.

Deployed alongside 45 Commando are marines of 30 Commando Information Exploitation Group, Commando Logistic Regiment and Commando Helicopter Force, plus British Army troops from 24 Commando Royal Engineers and 29 Commando Royal Artillery.

The Norwegian Government has decided to cancel this year’s cold weather exercises in Indre Troms in light of the COVID-situation in Norway.

-Norway, along with the rest of world, is faced with a challenging situation. The restrictions in place in Nordre-Follo and the municipalities surrounding it, are the most severe since the start of the Covid-pandemic. We must be one step ahead to try to avoid the spread of the mutated, and more contagious variant of the virus.  We have weighed the arguments and our decision has been to cancel the planned allied exercise activity in Troms, says Minister of Defence, Frank Bakke-Jensen.  

The decision entails cancelling both Excercise Rein I and Joint Viking, exercises that were to include allied participation from several countries in addition to Norwegian troops. There will be a halt in the arrival of new allied forces to Indre Troms. For those forces already in place, there will be a controlled and well-planned departure.

– How the troops who are already here and conducting cold weather training will return to their respective countries will be planned and organized in dialogue with our allies and the Norwegian Armed Forces. Their return will also be in accordance with measures that adhere to infection control. We are now planning how to execute this and we will have to outline the details of allied returns at a later time, says the Minister of Defence.

The Norwegian Armed Forces will accommodate tailored winter-training where possible and in adherence with proper infection prevention measures until the various departure dates.

This winter, approximately 3 400 soldiers were scheduled to conduct cold weather training in Indre Troms. Up until now, approximately 2 900 allied troops have arrived in Indre Troms to train. Of these 2 900, about 1000 are from the United States, short of a 1000 are from the United Kingdom, around 600 from the Netherlands and about 200 from Germany.

-Allied training and exercises in Norway during winter-conditions is important both for Norway and our allies, and are important contributions to our security within NATO. In order for allied forces to reinforce the defence of NATO’s northern part, they need to have the knowledge to operate there. For this reason, Norwegian and allied troops also need to train and exercise in this area in peacetime. This year’s cancellation comes in addition to last year’s major exercise, Cold Response 20, which was significantly reduced in size due to strict preventative Covid-19 measures. I want to thank all our allies who have shown great flexibility and understanding in a challenging situation. I also want to thank local authorities, the health services and the Norwegian Armed Forces. Everyone has done an incredible job to handle this demanding situation in the best possible way, says the Defence Minister.

The Norwegian Armed Forces has a large footprint in Indre Troms, and besides maintaining operational readiness their current main concern is to contribute to stop the spread of the mutated virus and to prevent it from making its way into the region. The Armed Forces have therefore introduced restrictive measures on personnel coming from red zones in South-Eastern Norway. This entails a halt in the drafting of new recruits from these municipalities for the time being, and commuter-travel to and from these zones is suspended for now. All scheduled leaves for Army personnel are halted until further notice. To maintain national readiness, there will however, within current strict Covid-19 preventative measures, still be conducted national training and exercise-activity in Indre Troms.

-During the pandemic, the Norwegian Armed Forces have had three main priorities: maintain operational readiness, prevent the spread of the virus and aid civilian authorities. These priorities remain, says Bakke-Jensen.

Religions for Peace Norway has urged the Norwegian Government to join the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), which seeks for the first time to establish a comprehensive ban on the development, testing, production, stockpiling, stationing, transfer, use and threat of use of nuclear weapons, as well as obligations for victim assistance and environmental remediation. The Treaty was adopted on July 7 2017 and will come into force on 22 January. Until now, it has been ratified by 51 Countries.  Norway, however,  has consistently opposed signing the TPNW, arguing that it would come into conflict with its membership in NATO.

Regret that Norway has not joined the Treaty

According to the World Council of Churches website, the Norwegian leaders of Religions for Peace have expressed “deep regret” that the Country has not joined the Treaty , reminding that: “The threat of a catastrophic mass eradication using nuclear weapons was one of the most important reasons for more than 400 religious leaders to be brought together in Kyoto in Japan in 1970 for the first World Conference of Religions for Peace”.

“As Norwegian representatives of Religions for Peace, we are deeply convinced that the existence and use of nuclear weapons is fundamentally in conflict with our religious values and ethical principles,” the appeal stresses. “In the name of humanity, we cannot accept the use of nuclear weapons”.

Unacceptable support for the use of nuclear weapons

According to the Norwegian peace leaders, as long as nuclear weapons exist, there is a danger that they may be used. They therefore claim that “Norwegian current support for the use of nuclear weapons that violate human dignity is unacceptable,” stressing there is “no decisive conflict between international law, moral principles, Norway’s membership in NATO, and the ratification of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons”.

Noting that the annual expenses used on nuclear weapons globally are estimated to at least 100 billion US dollars, the appeal also points out that: “More of our resources should be used for human development and protection of the creation, and not for investing in weapons that can eradicate the world’s human population”.

The value of the contract for the acquisition of the Naval Strike Missile (NSM) by Romania is estimated at $286 million and will include four ground-based launch vehicles and associated command, control, and support equipment, with delivery by 2024.

In October 2020, the U.S. State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Romania of Naval Strike Missile (NSM) Coastal Defense Systems (CDS) and related equipment.

The Government of Romania had requested to buy two (2) Coastal Defense Systems (CDS) consisting of: up to ten (10) Link-16 Multifunctional Information Distribution System – Joint Tactical Radio Systems (MIDS-JTRS). Also included are two Coastal Defense System Fire Distribution Centers; four Mobile Launch Vehicles; Transport Loading Vehicles; Naval Strike Missiles; non-operational Inert Handling/Loading Missile (IHM) to support missile handling and loading/unloading; training missile and equipment spares; associated containers; training and training equipment; publications and technical documentation; spares parts; loading and mobile maintenance support; U.S. Government and contractor engineering, technical, and logistics support services; and other related elements of logistical and program support.

The Naval Strike Missile (NSM) is an anti-ship and land-attack missile developed by the Norwegian company Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (KDA) in collaboration with the American, company Lockheed Martin. The missile can be launched from land and naval platforms. 

The NSM missile is able to fly over and around landmasses, travel in sea skim mode, and then make random maneuvers in the terminal phase, making it harder to stop by enemy countermeasures. It has a length of 3.96 m and carries an HE (High Explosive) fragmentation warhead with a  maximum payload of 125 kg. It has a maximum firing range of 185 km.

Over its 245 year history, the United States Marine Corps has been deployed to regions that might seem like tropical paradises, were the Marines are seen not having to do the dirty job of fighting America’s enemies. While extreme heat and high humidity have been a foe of the Marine riflemen in many conflicts, so too have extreme cold and high winds, which is why U.S. Marines of the Marine Rotational Force Europe 21.1 (MRF-E), Marine Forces Europe and Africa recently took part in joint operations in northern Norway.

During the annual Reindeer II, a major Norwegian Army-led field exercises north of the Arctic Circle, the Marines and soldiers took part in bilateral arctic training, which included live-fire drills on snow and snow-covered ranges. According to Defence-Blog, the Marines and their Norwegian partners utilized snowshoes and cross-country skis, worked to keep ammunition dry and even dealt with issues like deploying weapons in powdery snow as well as facing cold and wet conditions. The exercises were led by Norwegian Army instructors.

“Norway offers challenging terrain and unique training opportunities to improve our cold-weather and mountain-warfare skills, enabling our force to fight and win in arctic conditions,” said Lt. Col. Ryan Gordinier, commander of 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment in advance of the bilateral exercise, which began on November 23. “The ‘Teufelhunden Battalion’ looks forward to continuing our historic relationship and strengthening our alliance with the Norwegian military.”

Gordinier added that Norway offers conditions that can’t be replicated at home stations back in the continental United States and said that the deployment provided the Marines with experience climbing up and down mountains, or dealing with extreme arctic temperatures.

This marked the first rotation of shorter MRF-E deployments, which were first announced by the Marine Corps in August 2020. Marine Rotational Force-Europe’s deployment synchronized with the Norwegian Armed Forces’ arctic training, which provided increased operational flexibility for the Marine Corps while it improved interoperability and strengthened defensive capabilities among partner forces. The Marines were able to learn valuable lessons in dealing with extreme arctic and mountainous terrain.

“One of the most important lessons we have learned is that we need a mutual understanding of what the different military terms mean, so that when an order is given, we can both act in the same way,” said Major General Lars S. Lervik, chief of the Norwegian Army, and Brigader Pål E. Berglund, commander of Brigade North, Norwegian Army according to Defence-Blog. “The level of integration allies have with the Norwegian Army today is very good, and I have never seen it this good before.”

The Marines may want to keep their cold-weather gear and camouflage at the ready. Marine Rotational Force-Europe 21.1 is expected to operate in Norway several times over the coming year, with a larger follow-on rotation scheduled in early 2021. The Marine Rotational Force plans to conduct various exercises alongside allied forces for continued interoperability and arctic training.

The United States Marines Corps is undergoing a transformation. In recent months the service has moved to deactivate all of its tank battalions, drastically reduce its artillery inventory, and field new amphibious vehicles to bring Marines from ship to shore. With a potential near-peer fight with China, the U.S. Marine Corps took a page from their past and recently reactivated the 1st and 2nd landing support battalions. However, that doesn’t mean that every fight could be under the tropical sun, which is why exercises such as Reindeer II remain so critical to keeping the Marines on their toes—even if that is in deep powdery snow.

Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer who has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers and websites. He is the author of several books on military headgear including A Gallery of Military Headdress, which is available on Amazon.com.