U.S. Marines, Norwegian military hold Arctic training exercise

U.S. Marines and sailors with Marine Rotational Force-Europe 21.1 participated in Arctic Littoral Strike in Northern Norway with the Norwegian military in March, the U.S. Marine Corps announced.

The exercise, conducted between March 11 and 31, focused on joint naval integration with Norwegian submarines and reinforced live-fire attacks.

According to a Marine Corps press release describing the exercise, MRF-E's Light-Armored Reconnaissance Company received a training mission that required the unit to observe routes that could be used by an adversary in the Arctic fjords, allowing a Norwegian submarine to move without being impeded.

For the live-fire exercise, the Marine contingent integrated Javelin anti-tank missiles, tube-launched optically-tracked wire-guided missiles, artillery, explosive ordnance and heavy machine guns with maneuver elements.

Before the exercise began, the Marines spent weeks participating in cold-weather training led by Norwegian instructors -- honing their ability to live, thrive, and fight in the Arctic.

"This exercise demonstrated the battalion's capability to operate inside actively contested maritime spaces, in this case arctic littoral spaces, and to provide support to joint fleet operations," said Lt. Col. Ryan Gordinier, the MRF-E battalion commander, in the release.

"The Marine Corps has demonstrated an interest in developing expeditionary advance basing capabilities in the Pacific, and we took advantage of the opportunity to exercise those concepts in the Arctic," Gordinier said.

Also in March, a U.S. B-2 bomber and F-35 fighter planes from Norway's air force executed a night exercise near the Arctic Circle.

In 2020, Marines from the 3rd Battalion of the 6th Marine Regiment conducted Exercise Reindeer II, a six-week Arctic training exercise that wrapped in early December in Norway.

Related Links
Beyond the Ice Age

Tweet

Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.

SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly

paypal only

SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once

credit card or paypal

Rare earth mine takes centre stage in Greenland vote
Nuuk (AFP) April 6, 2021
Greenland went to the polls Tuesday after an election campaign focused on a disputed mining project in the autonomous Danish territory, as the Arctic island confronts the impact of global warming. Snow fell over the capital Nuuk as voters queued at polling stations, with roughly 40,000 people eligible to vote in the legislative elections. Face masks were handed out to voters entering a Nuuk polling station. There have only been a total of 31 confirmed Covid-19 cases and no deaths in the isolated ... read more