Synopsis
The US Army Special Forces recently participated in a winter warfare course hosted by the Swedish Subarctic Warfare Centre.
Held in northern Sweden, the course introduced the Special Forces to the specific hardships of military operations in the European High North. The soldiers, who are assigned to 10th Special Forces Group, learned how to move, fight and be self-sufficient in an unforgiving environment. They will put those skills to the test during Cold Response 2022, a Norwegian-led exercise slated for March.
The US Army Special Forces - commonly referred to as Green Berets - are the United States’ premier unconventional warfare fighting force, focused specifically on working by, with and through partner forces using language skills and cultural savvy.
Footage includes shots of soldiers building a fire, manoeuvring on snowmobiles, and practising combat drills.
Transcript
---SHOTLIST—
(00:00) CLOSE-UPS – US SPECIAL FORCES (SF) SOLDIERS IN WINTER WEATHER GEAR
(00:05) VARIOUS SHOTS – SF SOLDIERS ON SNOWMOBILES
(00:18) VARIOUS SLOW-MO SHOTS – SF SOLDIERS ON SNOWMOBILES
(00:40) VARIOUS SHOTS – SF SOLDIERS ON SNOWMOBILES
(01:03) VARIOUS SHOTS – SF SOLDIERS ON SNOWMOBILES TALKING TO SWEDISH INSTRUCTOR
(01:12) VARIOUS SLOW-MO SHOTS – SF SOLDIERS TREKKING ON SKIS
(01:39) VARIOUS SHOTS – SF SOLDIERS PRACTISING REACT-TO-CONTACT DRILLS
(02:09) VARIOUS SLOW-MO SHOTS – SF SOLDIERS WITH WEAPONS
(02:16) VARIOUS SHOTS – SF SOLDIERS BUILDING FIRES IN THE SNOW
(02:50) MEDIUM SHOT – SWEDISH FLAG
(02:54) SOUNDBITE (English) Team Sergeant (identity withheld), 10th Special Forces Group, US Army
“We are the Special Forces, and in doing so, Special Forces is always adapting, and changing, just to climate more in general. I think most importantly, being here, it’s a climate we don’t often work in, and it’s super important for us to get knowledge, mainly the simple stuff, you know? How does your body work in this environment? And it’s super important to us, so we can prepare for any kind of conflict, so we can be successful in it.”
(03:26) SOUNDBITE (English) Team Sergeant (identity withheld), 10th Special Forces Group, US Army
“Operating in the cold – first and foremost, it’s difficult, and nobody wants to do it. It’s definitely a select few that has to be identified, who are willing to, you know, get out there, get exposed with it, and take that challenge, because it’s difficult. For instance, just changing your socks is a task. And it’s a hard task to do.”
(03:48) SOUNDBITE (English) Team Sergeant (identity withheld), 10th Special Forces Group, US Army
“Oh, it’s been awesome. These guys are the professionals in this environment. And generally speaking, if we’re trying to learn something for the first time, we want to learn it from the professionals. And everything, the tricks, the tips that has helped us immensely – once again, it’s like I said, to be able to do the simple tasks and make them easy.”
(04:10) SOUNDBITE (English) Team Sergeant (identity withheld), 10th Special Forces Group, US Army
“Oh, NATO forces, honestly, because it’s a joint effort, and I firmly believe that, because we can’t operate in anything alone, we’re always depending on each other, and NATO specifically can benefit from this by learning just the essentials, how to survive and be successful in this environment. Because, I keep going back to this, it’s extremely difficult to do the simple tasks, and when you look at it from a bigger picture, if we can accomplish the simple tasks, then the actual task of whatever we’re being tasked to do with, to operate in this environment, that’s where the success comes from.”
