ARCTIC NATION: Troops From 13 Nations Train in High North

Cold Response 2016.

Norwegian Leopard tanks get ready for a training scenario during Operation Cold Response 2016.   (Norwegian Defense Forces photo)

Elements of the U.S. 2d Marine Expeditionary Brigade are in Norway until later this month as part of Exercise Cold Response 16, which has brought together 132 NATO Allied and partner nations and approximately 16,000 troops to practice joint crisis response capabilities in cold weather environments.

The multinational force comprises personnel from Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Latvia, Poland, Germany, France, Britain, Canada, Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands — as well as the U.S. Marine Corps..

Marine Corps photo by Corporal Immanuel Johnson

Marines with Black Sea Rotational Force (above) maneuvered across the Northern Trøndelag region of Norway last month to prepare for Cold Response 16.

Hosted by the the Norwegian military, Cold Response  — which runs from February 19 to March 22 — is held every two years to prepare NATO and partner nations like Sweden to coordinate operations under extreme winter conditions.

The Marines have brought mobile artillery, special operations units, Abrams tanks, amphibious assault vehicles as well as light armored and combat vehicles to Norway.

U.S. Marine Corps photo by Corporal Dalton Precht.

Norwegian Minister of Defense Ine Marie Eriksen Søreide (above) talks with Lieutenant Colonel Justin Ansel, commanding officer of Task Force 1/8, and officers from Norway and Sweden at a training location near Steinkjer, Norway, March 2, during Cold Response 16.

We’ll have more photos and news from this exercise in coming days.

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ARCTIC NATION is an occasional 4GWAR posting on the Far North. The U.S. “National Strategy for the Arctic Region” describes the United States as “an Arctic Nation with broad and fundamental interests” in the region. “Those interests include national security needs, protecting the environment, responsibly managing resources, considering the needs of indigenous communities, support for scientific research, and strengthening international cooperation on a wide range of issues.”