U.S. Troops Hone Arctic Combat Skills

More than 3,000 troops, the northernmost U.S. combat force, braved the Arctic cold to participate in a mock assault on a simulated Soviet war position that demonstrated many of the pitfalls of fighting in freezing weather.

Three units of the 6th Light Infantry Division from nearby Ft. Greely--1,200 combat infantrymen and 1,900 support troops--took part in the maneuvers about 100 miles southeast of Fairbanks and one hour by plane from the Soviet Union.

Saturday was the 12th day of the 15-day test of men and equipment. Temperatures have plunged to as low as 44 degrees below zero and winds at times have gusted to 70 m.p.h., according to a media pool report from the site.

“This is probably the most physically demanding field troop exercise the Army’s ever put together,” Col. Jim Wood, commander of the division’s 2nd Brigade, said.

Wind Grounds Copters

Helicopter assaults, night parachute jumps and other airlift exercises were canceled because of the high winds. Machine guns jammed in the bitter cold and soldiers had to wade through waist-deep snow to take the would-be Soviet hill. Still, much of the operation went as planned, Army officials said.

The Defense Department also used the exercises to test the news pool system that was set up after the press was excluded from the first days of the U. S. invasion of Grenada in 1983. Reporters chosen for the pool were notified by the Pentagon just after midnight Thursday, and were flown to Alaska from Washington.

They got a quick course in Arctic survival from Army experts and were supplied with clothing and other equipment for the frigid environment.

The exercises are an annual event for the 2nd Brigade. The test of Arctic survival in combat included live-fire assault accompanied by Air Force and Army artillery barrages. The troops, using snowshoes and skis to make their way through the fields, dug foxholes in the snow banks and spent nights in the field.