International defence forces complete Exercise Northern Wind

Three months of intensive training for Britain’s winter warfare specialists reached its climax as Royal Marines ‘fought’ Swedes and Finns in the Arctic snow for Exercise Northern Wind.

Some 350 Royal Marines from 40 Commando in Taunton joinedNorwegian troops and U.S. Marines in a week-long mock battle trying to invadeSwedish territory – with the hosts and Finnish troops blocking their way.

Exercise Northern Wind is the largest military exerciseinvolving NATO and partner nations this winter, played out by upwards of 10,000troops around the town of Haparanda at the head of the Gulf of Bothnia.

The Royal Marines – Britain’s experts in cold weatherwarfare – have spent the opening weeks of 2019 acclimatising to conditions inthe Arctic around Bardufoss in northern Norway, before learning how to fight insub-zero temperatures.

With the Norwegians and Americans, they helped form a5,000-strong force which then had to be shipped 800km from Norway to theexercise area on the Swedish-Finnish border; it took 17 trains, 59 vehicleconvoys and 75 buses to ship all the troops and their equipment ready for‘Battle of Eastern Norrbotten’.

The exercise was intended to enhance the Swedish Army’sability to defend the country from an attack in the high north.

Swedes stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Finnish troops, usingarmour and motorised infantry to fend off the attacking Norwegian-led battlegroup in sub-zero temperatures.

“The forces were ‘fighting’ in some of the most challengingconditions in the world,” explained Lt. Simon Williams of 40 Commando, based atNorton Manor, near Taunton. “The snow was waist deep, conditions were freezingand the alpine forests dense. So movement was tough – but the Royal Marines aretrained to exploit this environment.”

On skis or in their Viking armoured vehicles, they tried tooutflank their foes, ‘fighting’ alongside Norwegian reconnaissance specialists.

The commandos have also spent much of this winter passing ontheir Arctic knowledge and experience to the U.S. Marine Corps – somethingwhich paid off as the two marines corps ‘fought’ side-by-side in the Swedishsnow.

“I think it is extremely import training out here in these harshconditions; you see the United States Marines Corps and your first thought ofthem is as hot weather specialists,” said Corporal Brandon Burrows of theUnited States Marine Corps. “Our transition towards working in cold weather isvital.” Williams said the 350 marines would return to Somerset at the very topof their game after their extensive – and intensive – Arctic workout.

“Northern Wind tested everything we have learned over thewinter and added some new challenges. It also gave us the opportunity to seehow other military survive and fight in such a harsh environment,” hecontinued.

“Above all, Royal Marines have demonstrated their ability tofight side-by-side with NATO and European allies in the high north. This willreinforce the fact that the UK and its partners are committed to deter anymilitary aggression in the region.”