24 hours on NATO’s winter survival course (Master)
What does it take to survive in cold weather environments with barely any equipment? We sent our video producer to Norway to find out.
Synopsis
Cold, snowy environments can be unforgiving, but for Allied armies, the task of collective defence means being ready to operate in any climate. That is why the NATO Centre of Excellence (COE) for Cold Weather Operations, based in Rena, Norway, teaches Allied troops how to survive and thrive in the snowy woods.
To try what it takes to deal with these harsh conditions, we sent one of our video producers to tag along for 24 hours with a group of NATO soldiers participating in one of the Centre’s cold-weather survival courses. Deep into the Norwegian forest, facing freezing temperatures and with only a few essential tools to help fight against the cold, he tested first-hand how demanding – and unforgiving – withstanding such conditions can be.
Survival courses focus on building an experienced core group of cold-weather survivalists, who can then bring their experience back to their armies and teach others. As we face the most serious security situation in decades, ensuring that Allied soldiers are prepared to protect our people in all terrains and weather conditions has become even more essential.
Transcript
TRANSCRIPT (AUDIO AND TEXT ON SCREEN)
--VOICEOVER--
What does it take for soldiers to be able to operate and survive in the cold? I was in Norway to find out from the people who know best.
--SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH —
ST.SGT. MARIUS HENRIKSEN
Centre of Excellence for Cold Weather Operations
“You have to be disciplined to do the hard work.”
--SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH —
JAKE TUPMAN
Video producer for NATO
“We are completely off-grid and we are going to find out what it takes to survive in conditions like these.”
--UPSOT Jake Tupman —
“Ok, I can do this. I’m pretty sure I can do this.”
--UPSOT St.Sgt. Marius Henriksen —
“We’ll see.”
— TEXT ON SCREEN —
24 HOURS ON
NATO’S WINTER
SURVIVAL COURSE
— TEXT ON SCREEN —
NORWAY
— TEXT ON SCREEN —
RENA
TRAINING AREA
--VOICEOVER--
For the next 24 hours I’d be taking part in a cold weather survival instructor course run by NATO’s Cold Weather Operations Centre of Excellence, here in Norway.
The course runs for seven days and participants must survive with barely any equipment.
--SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH —
JAKE TUPMAN
Video producer for NATO
“So I’ve been given a saw. I’ve been given an axe and I think it’s called a survival sheet.”
--VOICEOVER--
It’s safe to say I was totally out of my depth.
--UPSOT St.Sgt. Marius Henriksen —
“Welcome here, to your home for the next 24 at least.”
--VOICEOVER--
I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I’d be doing my best to keep up with the other participants.
First on the agenda: a winter survival safety briefing.
--UPSOT St.Sgt. Marius Henriksen —
“Just keep focused on what you are doing when you are using the axe. I prefer to have it like this, outside. So, if I fall it goes here, not having it…I’ve seen in some books like this. If I then fall, you can see yourself…”
--VOICEOVER--
Norwegian course instructor Marius clearly knew what he was talking about. If I was going to survive, I’d need his help.
--SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH —
ST.SGT. MARIUS HENRIKSEN
Centre of Excellence for Cold Weather Operations
“Do you have anything to make a fire with?”
--SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH —
JAKE TUPMAN
Video producer for NATO
“No.”
--SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH —
ST.SGT. MARIUS HENRIKSEN
Centre of Excellence for Cold Weather Operations
“You get a little gift from me here now.”
--SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH —
JAKE TUPMAN
Video producer for NATO
“Oh, a little cheat code here.”
--SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH —
ST.SGT. MARIUS HENRIKSEN
Centre of Excellence for Cold Weather Operations
“Some bark from the birch trees, so you can see if you can use that for something to start with. We always have a bag of this. That’s my starter and go-to kit.”
--SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH —
JAKE TUPMAN
Video producer for NATO
“And when it comes to starting the fire…”
--SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH —
ST.SGT. MARIUS HENRIKSEN
Centre of Excellence for Cold Weather Operations
“You can borrow this. When it’s ready, you can try with this one.”
--SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH —
JAKE TUPMAN
Video producer for NATO
“And what is that exactly?”
--SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH —
ST.SGT. MARIUS HENRIKSEN
Centre of Excellence for Cold Weather Operations
“It’s a Fire Steel. But you need to know how to use it. You will see it later.”
--SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH —
JAKE TUPMAN
Video producer for NATO
“Alright, I’m going to go and collect some wood, Marius, thanks so much.”
— TEXT ON SCREEN —
CHALLENGE #1
MAKE A FIRE
--UPSOT Jake Tupman —
“Let’s start with the smaller bits. I don’t want to hit myself in the face. There we go, nice.”
--SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH —
JAKE TUPMAN
Video producer for NATO
“I’ll tell you what makes everything so difficult, is that you’re constantly getting stuck in the snow.”
--VOICEOVER--
While I struggled to move in the snow, I noticed that the other participants had quickly paired off. So I was clearly at a disadvantage.
--SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH —
JAKE TUPMAN
Video producer for NATO
“So far in the one safety briefing, he was very clear, Marius, to point out that ‘never be alone’. But at the moment that is precisely what I am, as I haven’t really made any friends yet. Hopefully Marius will give me a hand if I run into trouble.
Marius, it’s fairly obvious but I want to ask anyway. You know, we’ve started on this course with fire. Why fire? And how does it help?”
--SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH —
ST.SGT. MARIUS HENRIKSEN
Centre of Excellence for Cold Weather Operations
“The protection part of the fire, that’s the most important thing in the winter conditions when you don’t have sleeping bags, insulation mats and all that stuff. You need to be able to maintain body heat and the way to do that out here is either by movement, and if you are going to recondition you have to be able to make a fire. If not, then you are going to freeze to death.
If you take care of it when it’s small, the fire will take care of you when it’s big.”
--SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH —
JAKE TUPMAN
Video producer for NATO
“Come on…”
--VOICEOVER--
With Marius’s words echoing in my head,
--SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH —
ST.SGT. MARIUS HENRIKSEN
Centre of Excellence for Cold Weather Operations
“If you take care of it when it’s small, the fire will take care of you when it’s big.”
--VOICEOVER--
I nurtured my little winter fire.
--VOICEOVER--
I had achieved the unbelievable. Through sheer determination and newly acquired survival skills, I had created a fire in the snow.
--SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH —
JAKE TUPMAN
Video producer for NATO
“Has my fire gone out, Marius?”
--SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH —
ST.SGT. MARIUS HENRIKSEN
Centre of Excellence for Cold Weather Operations
“Does it take care of you now?
--SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH —
JAKE TUPMAN
Video producer for NATO
“No.”
--SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH —
ST.SGT. MARIUS HENRIKSEN
Centre of Excellence for Cold Weather Operations
“And did you take care of it?”
--SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH —
JAKE TUPMAN
Video producer for NATO
“I felt I was taking care of it.”
--SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH —
JAKE TUPMAN
Video producer for NATO
“First attempt at a fire, not great. Not terrible, I don’t think. I did have a little bit of extra help from Marius there. I think Marius is warming to me, so I think although he probably wouldn’t admit it just yet, we are definitely buddies.”
--VOICEOVER--
If I was to survive overnight in these extreme winter conditions, I’d need to build a shelter. A crucial skill for any solider on this course.
— TEXT ON SCREEN —
CHALLENGE #2
SHELTER
BUILDING
--SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH —
1SG AURORA
Centre of Excellence for Cold Weather Operations
“When you are out in a survival situation, you want to find a place to rest that is concealed and you feel safe. We’ve found a big tree where we see the snow is still attached on the lower end of the tree. And we just push through, and we cut a lot of these out because when you make the bedding you have to have at least 30 centimetres of compressed branches. And you have place for the fire inside here. And you are completely concealed from the environment or other people and enemies.”
--VOICEOVER--
With the other course participants already hard at work shelter-building, it was time for me to find my spot for the night.
--UPSOT Jake Tupman —
“This one actually looks quite good. This looks great.”
“Ow!”
“I’ve got it the wrong way round. That’s what I’ve done. That’s got to be the front.”
--VOICEOVER--
My survival sheet roof was proving to be a challenge. So it was time yet again to ask for help from our Norwegian hosts.
--SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH —
JAKE TUPMAN
Video producer for NATO
“Is it alright? Long silence.”
--SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH —
SFC FERDINAND BOHINEN
Centre of Excellence for Cold Weather Operations
“Haha yeah. I’m just trying to think.”
--SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH —
JAKE TUPMAN
Video producer for NATO
“I mean to be fair, I haven’t finished it yet.”
--SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH —
SFC FERDINAND BOHINEN
Centre of Excellence for Cold Weather Operations
“No.
You have to protect it from three sides.”
--SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH —
JAKE TUPMAN
Video producer for NATO
“Right, OK, I’m protected from only two at the moment, right?”
--SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH —
SFC FERDINAND BOHINEN
Centre of Excellence for Cold Weather Operations
“Yeah, you have the top. You see the bottom is quite open. You can just fill that with snow because all the heat from the fire is going to slip out beneath and under. So you have to trap the warmth from the fire inside.”
--SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH —
JAKE TUPMAN
Video producer for NATO
“It just goes to show, you know, you think you might be doing OK but there’s a lot more effort required to make yourself safe and secure than you’d immediately think.”
--SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH —
SFC FERDINAND BOHINEN
Centre of Excellence for Cold Weather Operations
“It’s easy to learn these things, it just requires a huge amount of work. Good luck!”
--SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH —
JAKE TUPMAN
Video producer for NATO
“Thanks very much, lessons learnt.”
--VOICEOVER--
With a few last-minute alterations, I was happy with my shelter.
--UPSOT Jake Tupman —
“Done.”
--VOICEOVER--
Shelter complete and with the sun setting over the magnificent Norwegian landscape, I was keen to find out more about why these courses are so important.
--SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH —
LTC SIMEN SANDUM
Deputy Director, Centre of Excellence for Cold Weather Operations
“The geopolitical situation in the world in general is shifting. And we see that the last couple of years the increased interest of cold weather capability for military units has increased. It has almost exploded. So we are looking into possibilities for increasing our competence and can deliver more to NATO.
--SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH —
JAKE TUPMAN
Video producer for NATO
“Have you got any advice for me for tonight when it gets really cold? How do I deal with that?”
--SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH —
LTC SIMEN SANDUM
Deputy director, Centre of Excellence for Cold Weather Operations
“Make sure that you are heated up before you go to bed and dress warm, and make sure you are insulated from the ground.”
--SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH —
JAKE TUPMAN
Video producer for NATO
“Brilliant. OK, I’ll bear that all in mind. Thank you very much again. Looking forward to it, I think.”
— TEXT ON SCREEN —
CHALLENGE #3
SURVIVE
THE NIGHT
--SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH —
JAKE TUPMAN
Video producer for NATO
“So right now, I’m sitting in the camp, in my camp. Behind me we have the fern bed. We’ve got the fire going, so the night begins.”
--VOICEOVER--
And it began with everyone taking their shoes off.
--SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH —
JAKE TUPMAN
Video producer for NATO
“So, Marius, what’s going on here?
--SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH —
ST.SGT. MARIUS HENRIKSEN
Centre of Excellence for Cold Weather Operations
“It’s actually just a control for the combat readiness. So, it’s like a conversation asking about the food and drinking, and we check the fingers and the toes looking for cuts, frostbites and getting a general impression of how the soldiers are feeling and coping in the environment.“
--VOICEOVER--
Fingers and toes intact and with my fire burning, I took a moment to reflect on the day so far.
--SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH —
JAKE TUPMAN
Video producer for NATO
“Obviously I’m highly unlikely to ever find myself in a situation where I need to build a fire or make a shelter. But for these guys and the guys that they’ll train when they go back with the skills that they’ve learnt from this course, they could have to operate in these kinds of conditions at some point in the future. It’s a great example of how militaries from different countries come together to teach each other skills that benefit overall the NATO Alliance.”
— TEXT ON SCREEN —
24 HOURS
COMPLETED
--SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH —
JAKE TUPMAN
Video producer for NATO
“So that wasn’t the worst night’s sleep I’ve ever had but it certainly wasn’t one of the best either.”
--SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH —
ST.SGT. MARIUS HENRIKSEN
Centre of Excellence for Cold Weather Operations
“Good morning. Is it a good morning?”
--SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH —
JAKE TUPMAN
Video producer for NATO
“Well you know, it’s an alright morning. Good to see you.”
--SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH —
ST.SGT. MARIUS HENRIKSEN
Centre of Excellence for Cold Weather Operations
“Likewise.”
--SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH —
JAKE TUPMAN
Video producer for NATO
“What’s the process after you’ve finished using a camp?”
--SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH —
ST.SGT. MARIUS HENRIKSEN
Centre of Excellence for Cold Weather Operations
“We try not to make any tracks. I say there are two things we leave in the nature, that’s ‘thank you’ and nothing. So we have to conceal all of your tracks as good as possible. Of course, the snow tracks will be here, but they will vanish when the snow is coming. But then you just conceal the fire and spread the beddings and all that stuff. And since you have already built it in a nice environment and it’s concealed by itself, most of the nature has done the job for you.”
--SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH —
JAKE TUPMAN
Video producer for NATO
“Yeah, it was definitely an experience. I definitely feel like I’ve learnt a thing or two. We didn’t quite buddy up with the shelter-building, but I would certainly say Marius is a buddy, right Marius?”
--SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH —
ST.SGT. MARIUS HENRIKSEN
Centre of Excellence for Cold Weather Operations
“Yeah, likewise. It has been good to have you here. So you are welcome back.”
--VOICEOVER--
Having finally achieved ‘buddy’ status with Marius, my time spent on this course had certainly taught me that to survive in these conditions, even if only for 24 hours, you need to know what to do and how to do it. It had also given me an insight into just how much preparation, training and knowledge is needed to operate in the cold.
--END--