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Force Recon Overcomes Alaskan Wilderness Challenge

ELMENDORF AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska (Mar. 13, 1998) -- Marines have to be ready to deploy anywhere. As our hymn states, "... In the snow of far off northern lands, to the sunny tropic scenes ... " To be able to always stay on the job, Marines must be trained in every clime and place.

Marines from 5th Force Reconnaissance Co., Headquarters and Service Battalion, III Marine Expeditionary Force, recently deployed here to experience cold weather training.

According to Lt. Col. William C. Cook, commanding officer, 5th Force Recon Co., the goal of the training was to build each Marine's confidence in surviving in a cold weather environment.

As part of this training package, Marines were taught the basics of cold weather survival, skiing and snow shoeing, and spent two weeks living in the field.

According to Capt. John Kowatch, executive officer, 5th Force Recon Co., this training provided the basic elements needed for survival in the cold. "You can read all you want about the cold," he said, "but until you live in it, you don't know what it's about."

Cold weather survival was summed up for the Marines with the COLD class -- stay Clean, avoid Overheating, use Layers, and above all, stay Dry.

Staying dry involved learning to keep your balance on skis and shoes so that you could stay out of the snow. It also involved knowing your body and using appropriate layers of clothing so you don't sweat.
People sweat as a way to cool their bodies through evaporation. In a cold weather environment, the person either becomes too cold during the evaporation process, or the sweat freezes causing chill or frostbite.
Some Marines found it easy to stay warm with just a few layers as long as they kept busy, but the cold forced them to bundle up once they stopped moving.

"Two layers were enough to keep me warm as long as I was moving," said Cpl. Joe Luevano, logistics chief, 5th Force Recon Co. "Once I stopped, I had to put on at least three layers to stay warm."

The Recon specialists were also taught the basics for skiing and snow shoeing. Those who had skied before or were quick learners were put into an advanced group to work on tougher maneuvers, such as kick turns and traversing downhill. Less-experienced skiers were put into a beginners group, where they worked on the basics such as slowing and stopping while going downhill, and picking themselves out of the snow as quickly as possible.

According to Lance Cpl. Carlos Snead, paraloft, 5th Force Recon Co., this training used the crawl, walk, run method because some of these Marines had never seen snow or been on skis before.

"This was a good base for training," said Snead. "You couldn't ask for better training."

"I had never been on skis before," said Lance Cpl. Cyprian Johnson, Radio Team Operator (RTO), 5th Force Recon Co. "This was a good experience for me. I feel that I have the experience to survive if I am put into a combat situation in a cold weather environment."

For their final week in the field, the Marines were broken up into two Reconnaissance Observation Centers and three forward teams that made their way through a long valley on a 23-mile mission.
Each forward team was assigned to report all activity going on throughout the valley, either by civilians or the simulated enemy.

"I think this is the best cold weather training I've ever done," said Sgt. Ron Holmes, RTO, 5th Force Co. "I feel that we have scratched the surface of what to expect during a cold weather conflict," said Holmes.
According to Cook, this training evolution went well and plans are in the works to do similar training next year.

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