Synopsis
In the Arctic, a soldier’s greatest foe isn’t the enemy – it’s the cold.
This documentary follows a company of US Marine infantry as they learn how to survive, fight and prevail in conditions that are constantly working against them. In the mountains of northern Norway, they learn how to survive an ice fall-in, live in sub-zero temperatures, and conduct combat operations in terrain that makes the rudiments of warfare – moving and fighting – much more difficult. During the field training portion of Exercise White Claymore 18, the US Marines tested their skills in the Norwegian backcountry, where they tracked down and attacked the UK Royal Marine opposing force in a simulated scenario.
Interviews include a Norwegian infantry captain, two UK Royal Marine mountain warfare experts, and a US Marine infantry sergeant. Footage includes shots of Norwegian and US infantry traversing the Arctic backcountry on skis, firing weapons and patrolling under the aurora borealis.
Transcript
Shot of northern lights above mountain in northern Norway, with US Marines marching in snow.
Winter warfare montage: ice fall-in, infantry combat, soldier on snowmobile
Drone shots of frozen lake
--SOUNDBITE—(ENGLISH) Sergeant Adam Barton, 45 Commando, UK Royal Marines,
“The Arctic environment, it’s a whole different beast.”
--SOUNDBITE—(ENGLISH) Sergeant Cole Green, Marine Rotational Force-Europe
“It gets in your bones, it blows right through you. It can kill you and it can kill you quick.”
TEXT ON SCREEN:
SUB-ZERO CONDITIONS LEAVE LITTLE ROOM FOR ERROR
THAT’S WHY NATO’S ARCTIC EXPERTS
TRAIN REGULARLY TO SHARE SKILLS
ON SCREEN GRAPHIC:
Sgt Adam Barton
45 Commando, UK Royal Marines
--SOUNDBITE—(ENGLISH) Sergeant Adam Barton, 45 Commando, Royal Marines
“I think you should be able to come away from a cold weather environment and be at one with the environment and just understand the effects that the cold has and how you operate and how you combat that.
Ice-breaking is a great example of how an individual reacts. Your heart rate will increase, then obviously panic starts to set in. If you go through that ice, the only person that’s getting you out of that ice is yourself.”
Shots of US Marines taking part in ice-breaking drills on frozen lake
ON SCREEN GRAPHIC:
Sgt Cole Green
US Marine Rotational Force-Europe
--SOUNDBITE—(ENGLISH) Sergeant Cole Green, US Marine Rotational Force-Europe
“It takes your breath away and your first instinct is to suck in all that air but if you do that when your head’s under the water, obviously that’s a bad day. Definitely a shock, that water is pretty cold.”
Shots of US Marines marching in snowshoes
ON SCREEN GRAPHIC:
Cpt Audum Jórstad
2nd Battalion, Norwegian Army
--SOUNDBITE—(NORWEGIAN, ENGLISH SUBTITLES) Captain Audum Jórstad, 2nd Battalion, Norwegian Army
“Equipment is vital during the winter. In terms of clothing, proper equipment for the feet, hands and head is essential.”
Shots of US Marines on skis, putting on gloves and equipment
ON SCREEN GRAPHIC:
CSgt Richard Jeffrey
45 Commando, UK Royal Marines
--SOUNDBITE—(ENGLISH) Colour Sergeant Richard Jeffrey, 45 Commando, UK Royal Marines
“One thing we do teach is to chamber a round in the weapon. When you pull the trigger and fire the round, that initial explosion is going to clear any ice that is around there.”
Shots of Norwegian troops training and firing weapons in the snow
Drone shots of sunset in mountains
Shots of US Marines on skis, struggling in the snow
--SOUNDBITE—(ENGLISH) Sergeant Cole Green, US Marine Rotational Force-Europe
“I have never been on skis before coming to Norway. You’ve seen the movie Bambi? It’s about like that.”
--SOUNDBITE—(ENGLISH) Colour Sergeant Richard Jeffrey, 45 Commando, UK Royal Marines
“The ability to get around and do the simple tasks becomes difficult.”
--SOUNDBITE—(ENGLISH) Sergeant Cole Green, Marine Rotational Force-Europe
“You can go down extremely quick in this environment. The main thing to surviving here, is to stay moving. Seeing that guy that’s sitting there and he’s going ‘internal’, is what we call it a lot of the time, he’s kind of sitting there not talking to anybody. That’s something you’re obviously looking for.”
Sunset shots of silhouetted Marines on skis with weapons
Shot of anonymous Marine in snow cover sitting alone
Shot of Norwegian infantryman breathing in the cold
Shots of US Marines using shovels to dig into snow and setting up tent
Drone shot of camp in woods
--SOUNDBITE—(NORWEGIAN, ENGLISH SUBTITLES) Captain Audum Jórstad, 2nd Battalion, Norwegian Army
“Everything happens in slow motion. In the end, when you reach a certain degree of cold, you stop functioning as a soldier. We are rigorous about finding shelter before it gets too cold or windy.”
--SOUNDBITE—(ENGLISH) Sergeant Cole Green, US Marine Rotational Force-Europe
“The northern lights, the aurora, I’ve seen pictures of it and heard people talk about it. I mean, people write about it in songs and everything else, but actually being able to experience that and see that, the way that just the whole sky changed colour and they’d dance across the stars and everything like that, it was absolutely amazing.”
Shot of northern lights above mountain in northern Norway, with US Marines marching in snow.
Winter warfare montage: ice fall-in, infantry combat, soldier on snowmobile
Drone shots of frozen lake
TEXT ON SCREEN:
SUB-ZERO CONDITIONS LEAVE LITTLE ROOM FOR ERROR
THAT’S WHY NATO’S ARCTIC EXPERTS
TRAIN REGULARLY TO SHARE SKILLS
ON SCREEN GRAPHIC:
Sgt Adam Barton
45 Commando, UK Royal Marines
Shots of US Marines taking part in ice-breaking drills on frozen lake
ON SCREEN GRAPHIC:
Sgt Cole Green
US Marine Rotational Force-Europe
Shots of US Marines marching in snowshoes
ON SCREEN GRAPHIC:
Cpt Audum Jórstad
2nd Battalion, Norwegian Army
Shots of US Marines on skis, putting on gloves and equipment
ON SCREEN GRAPHIC:
CSgt Richard Jeffrey
45 Commando, UK Royal Marines
Shots of Norwegian troops training and firing weapons in the snow
Drone shots of sunset in mountains
Shots of US Marines on skis, struggling in the snow
Sunset shots of silhouetted Marines on skis with weapons
Shot of anonymous Marine in snow cover sitting alone
Shot of Norwegian infantryman breathing in the cold
Shots of US Marines using shovels to dig into snow and setting up tent
Drone shot of camp in woods
Various shots of northern lights with US Marines on patrol in mountains.
--SOUNDBITE—(ENGLISH) Sergeant Adam Barton, 45 Commando, UK Royal Marines
“NATO as a whole, when you bring them together, we all have our key areas of responsibility.”
--SOUNDBITE—(ENGLISH) Colour Sergeant Richard Jeffrey, 45 Commando, Royal Marines
“The more we do joint work, it means that we can understand each other better. Understand what each one is capable of, should there be a time when we all have to come together as one united force.”
--SOUNDBITE—(ENGLISH) Sergeant Adam Barton, 45 Commando, UK Royal Marines
“Let’s embrace that, let’s take this forward and by doing so you’re always getting better and ultimately more proficient and more competent in this environment.”
