U.S. Army Cold Weather Training

The U.S. Army is well equipped to deal with the harsh cold.

Throughout its long and storied history, the U.S. Army has been called upon to fight battles in the most disparaging of conditions, including temperatures well below freezing. In its infancy, the U.S. Army struggled with how to deal the numbing cold, with many soldiers falling victim due to poor training or lack of appropriate gear. Since then, the U.S. Army has established cold weather warfare protocols to ensure soldiers don't have to face any elemental dangers from the below zero temperatures and hostile conditions.

The Beginning

Battling the cold as well as the enemy was nothing new to grunts in the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. In the early 1940s, the 87th Mountain Infantry, established by the Mountain and Winter Warfare Board based at Fort Lewis in Washington State, was created. The 87th trained and experimented with cold weather tactics exclusively on Mount Rainer, later moving to permanent headquarters at Camp Hale in the mountains of Colorado.

First Action

The formation of the 87th's cold weather warfare was well timed. The unit was deployed to the mountains of Italy at the onset of the World War II to carry out missions against extremist Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. Their success paved the way for other mountain and cold weather training camps in West Virginia, New York, Wisconsin and Alaska. In 1957, all camps were moved to the Alaskan camp of Fort Wainwright in the Big Delta area of the state.

Training Facilities

All mountain and cold weather training and tactics were taught at the newly christened Arctic Indoctrination School, which then formerly adopted the name US Army Cold Weather and Mountain School, later changing its name in 1963 to the current US Army Northern Warfare Training Center. All US Army cold weather warfare strategies are taught at the school, which teaches entire units versus select soldiers.

About the Center

Units attending instruction at the NWTC in Alaska have four courses of training to complete: Cold Weather Orientation, Cold Weather Leaders, Basic Mountaineering and Assault Climbing. Each have their own prerequisites, such as height and weight requirements as well as current rank of soldiers in the attending unit. Any soldiers who cannot meet all of the established criteria must have the written approval of a superior officer.

Curriculum

Survival forms the basis of each course. Students are instructed on how to survive in extreme cold, evade enemies and safely traverse mountainous terrain while minimizing exposure. The Leadership classes teach unit commanders how to teach these basic skills to soldiers under their command. Mountaineering skills such as proper climbing technique and environmental effects on the body are also stressed in addition to combat strategies exclusive to cold and mountain warfare.

References

• Northern Warfare Training Center: The Army's only Cold Region Training Proponent