NATO MUltimedia

Training in winter warfare, UK and Estonian troops have been undertaking exercises in temperatures as low as minus 20 degrees Celsius in Estonia.

UK and Estonian soldiers have been training in temperatures as low as minus 20 degrees Celsius in Estonia. They’ve been taking part in Exercise Winter Camp. During the exercise troops practised in deep snow and freezing conditions. UK troops also took part in a three-day cold weather operator’s course, learning to build shelters and staying out in conditions well below freezing. The UK troops, from the 5 RIFLES-led battlegroup, are serving in NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) Battlegroup Estonia. The Estonian troops are from the Estonian Defence Forces’ (EDF) Scouts Battalion.

All NATO eFP Battlegroup Estonia training, for Exercise Winter Camp, was conducted in line with Estonian national COVID-19 policy. The Battlegroup is currently operating as a ‘bubble’. Exercise Winter Camp ran from 1 to 12 February 2021.

Footage includes various shots of UK and Estonian infantry and cavalry taking part in cold weather exercises.

1. (00:00) VARIOUS SHOTS – UK TROOPS FROM NATO EFP BATTLEGROUP ESTONIA PATROL THROUGH SNOWY FOREST DURING EXERCISE
2. (01:41) VARIOUS SHOTS – UK TROOPS ASSUMING THE ROLE OF THE DEFENDERS FIRE BLANKS DURING EXERCISE
3. (02:01) VARIOUS SHOTS – UK TROOPS MOVE FORWARD AND TAKE BRIDGE DURING EXERCISE
4. (04:01) VARIOUS SHOTS – UK TROOPS WALK THROUGH HEAVY SNOW CARRYING SKIS AND POLES
5. (04:16) VARIOUS SHOTS – UK TROOPS BUILD SHELTERS IN THE ESTONIAN WOODS WHERE THEY WILL SLEEP FOR THE NIGHT IN FREEZING TEMPERATURES
6. (04:48) VARIOUS SHOTS – ESTONIAN CAVALRY IN CV90s DRIVE THROUGH ESTONIAN FOREST IN SNOWY CONDITIONS
7. (05:20) VARIOUS SHOTS – ESTONIAN CV90 OPERATORS, AND INFANTRY TROOPS WALKING THROUGH FOREST DURING WINTER EXERCISE
8. (06:01) VARIOUS SHOTS – BRITISH ARMY CHALLENGER 2 TANKS MANOEUVRE THROUGH ESTONIAN FOREST DURING EXERCISE
9. (06:46) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – LIEUTENANT-COLONEL JIM HADFIELD – COMMANDER, NATO EFP BATTLEGROUP ESTONIA

“So as part of our training here as the eFP Battlegroup, one of the things that we absolutely have to be is combat-credible. And combat credibility for me is a function of three things. One is our integration, and that’s not just only our integration across the whole region but also our integration into the Estonian national defence plan. It’s also about interoperability and our ability to interoperate with our Estonian partners but it’s also, as you’ve just eluded to it, it’s also about our ability to soldier in this environment alongside our Estonian colleagues and the cold weather operator’s course is really the vehicle that gets us ready to be combat-credible in these kind of conditions. You know, as British soldiers we don’t often soldier in -20 degrees Celsius or this kind of depth of snow. It presents equipment challenges, clothing challenges, as well as different tactics, and the cold weather operator’s course provides that foundational baseline bit of training to make sure that we can build upon that and be as good a team as we can be.”

1. (07:51) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – LIEUTENANT-COLONEL EERO AIJA – COMMANDER, ESTONIAN SCOUTS BATTALION

“This week, what we have here, we had the Estonian company commanders who had the opportunity to lead the British tank troops under their command in order to conduct offensive operations. So obviously this is only for training purposes, we are not expecting to have those tanks all the time for us, but it gives our commanders a very good opportunity to understand how the tanks work and how to use them in their benefits.”

1. (08:20) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – LIEUTENANT-COLONEL EERO AIJA – COMMANDER, ESTONIAN SCOUTS BATTALION

“I think we are very lucky this winter, we actually have lots of snow, we have minus temperatures, up to minus 20. So it really challenges, not only I think for the eFP Battlegroup, for ourselves as well. They are very harsh conditions for the soldiers to work in, to conduct military operations, but I see that the eFP Battlegroup is very well trained for that, I do know that they have had some specific training for cold weather operations when they are here and it’s good to see that they are adopting with those slippery roads, with those snowy conditions and the harsh cold as well.”


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