Together with the Sodankylä brigade, 15 American soldiers are participating in intense winter weather military training in Finnish Lapland.
Dubbed "The Winter War" training course, the Arctic military program was developed in part by the Södänkylä brigade. The 15 American soldiers who are participating are learning a range of extreme winter skills, from skiing in the dark to surviving in temperatures of nearly 40 below -- even after taking a fall in a icy lake.
The demanding course was challenging for everyone, including experienced soldiers.
"It was very tough," said Barry Izer, a trainer from the U.S. Army enrolled in the course.
"I have done a couple of training sessions in Alaska, like an extreme cold weather course, but this one is by far more strenuous. The skiing is difficult," said Izer.
According to Izer, in Alaska they navigate by snowshoe during training. In Finland, skiing in white snowsuits for long stretches through forests in the darkness of the polar night provided a whole new set of challenges.
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Geri Bush from the American Embassy in Finland's Office of Defense Cooperation was along observing the training.
Bush said that this type of cooperation is excellent for developing extreme winter weather tactical skills.
"This is special training, which you can't necessarily get in every place in the world. Finland's history with winter conditions and with war are also very important. We hope that we can learn a lot, but also that there are some things we can teach. This is mainly a cooperative exercise," said Bush.
This was the third time the Winter War course was organized.
This story is posted on Alaska Dispatch News as part of Eye on the Arctic, a collaborative partnership between public and private circumpolar media organizations.