Hostile Territory: The sparsely populated, frigid, and forbidding landscape along
the Malangen fjord in the Norwegian Arctic Circle presents a profound challenge
for military forces.
PO R TFO L I O
Surviving a Cold War
P H O T O E S S AY B Y R obert N i c k e l sber g
T e x t B y J u d i th M at l o f f
POR T FOLI O
British Royal Marines learn warm-up exercises to prevent frostbite—
a priority for NATO forces in the Arctic. Buddy systems make sure
soldiers care for themselves and their mates as they head out
carrying 100-pound packs.
S
KJOLD, Norway—The bullets were real. But fortunately for the
Norwegian snipers, this was just an exercise. If it had been real
combat, the enemy would have easily spotted the troops in the
vast whiteness of the Arctic. The white camouflage uniforms didn’t
match the ever-changing color of snow. The men’s breath and shadows
were easily seen in the frost. And the extreme cold impaired the sharpshooters’ accuracy by influencing bullet speeds.
It’s tough to wage war in the Arctic.
As melting glaciers open up access to shipping routes and energy
troves, countries with polar real estate are modernizing armies just in
case. Severe cold is the last frontier in warfare, barring outer space,
and the militaries of the United States, Canada, Denmark, Russia, and
Robert Nickelsberg, a TIME magazine contract photographer for 25 years,
has covered conflicts in India, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
Judith Matloff teaches conflict reporting at the Columbia University
Graduate School of Journalism. She is the author of Home Girl (2008) and
Fragments of a Forgotten War (1997).
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Gimme Shelter: During survival exercises, Marines construct a shelter out of
branches found in the frozen woods.
Apart from armed conflict, central Mindanao has been plagued with massive
flooding from torrential rains—the product of fast-changing weather conditions,
further complicating the ability of mothers to receive health care in restive regions.
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Casualty Evacuation: Royal Marines pull and push a sled bearing one of their
own. On extreme terrain, the Marines measure distance in hours per mile.
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Norway are finding that the environment
presents dangers as challenging as any enemy. When the mercury drops to 55 below
Fahrenheit, ballistics malfunction, helicopters can’t take off, and vehicles stall. Men
are prey to frostbite, avalanches, and snow
blindness. Dogs can’t track mines or victims buried in drifts.
“If you can survive and fight in the
extremes of the Arctic, you can fight anywhere in the world,” says Lt. Col. Lars
Sundnes, commanding officer of the Allied
Arctic Training Center in the high reaches
of Norway.
But just surviving is formidable.
Photographer Robert Nickelsberg
and I spent nearly two weeks in the Arctic
Circle with forces from Norway, Britain,
and the Netherlands to observe training
in the planet’s harshest climate. The journey began at a mountain bunker in Bodo
and continued on to a helicopter battalion in Bardufoss, coastal operations in
Harstad, and avalanche mapping and live
fire exercises in Skjold. The constant takeaway was that proper clothes are as vital as
nuclear submarines.
The simplest choices, such as what to
eat and wear, become critical, explains Sgt.
John Rutherland, an instructor with the
British Royal Marines. “If you’re up against
a wet and cold enemy, you win, even if they
have better equipment,” he tells a circle of
men stoking fires in a frozen forest. Three
months of training covers survival, mobility, and combat skills.
Marines secure gear atop Swedish BV tracked vehicles—the only motorized
transport in the treacherous mountain terrain north of the Arctic Circle.
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A r c ti c
T rai n i n g
Avalanche Mapping:
A single ski-borne
soldier can trigger a
catastrophic snowslide.
Probing a mountain
slope of windblown
snow can allow a soldier
to tell if an area’s too
dangerous to traverse. In
March 1986, more than
a dozen members of a
Norwegian ski patrol
died in an avalanche
during NATO games.
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Urban warfare is equally difficult in austere and extreme conditions. Norwegian
army soldiers practice attacking a remote Arctic outpost in knee-deep snow.
Lessons start with layering clothing
to mitigate the harsh elements. Men then
learn to dig snow caves, slaughter reindeer,
and fish through ice. They claw out of glacial lakes and drag 200-pound “casualties”
like huskies on skis. They trek in deep snow
with 100 pounds of gear on their backs.
Briefings explain the climatic effects on
equipment. Moving parts break, ice clogs
optics, and batteries drain quickly. Moisture collects when going from cold to warm
and back to cold, such as when entering and
exiting a warm tent. Powder burns slower
when cold, so artillery rounds can fall short
of the desired impact area. Deep snow
makes detonation of grenades less lethal as
it absorbs much of the blast. Warm rounds
dragging tough snow will jam or not feed
at all in automatic weapons.
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Pilots practice landing helicopters in
dreaded “white outs,” when swirling snow
impairs depth of perception so you don’t know
if you’re up or down. Soldiers are taught how
to warm medical fluids, engines, and satellite
technology with parachute covers and stoves.
More than anything, they drill to watch
over buddies. “You need to stay sharp in
this environment. There’s no room for error,” explains Capt. Kris Lotveit of Norway.
“We have a saying, ‘Don’t expect, inspect.’
It’s not good enough to ask a strong Marine
with tattoos and big muscles if he’s okay.
He will say, ‘Yes, sir.’ You have to check to
see that his toes aren’t frozen.”
In this Portfolio, Robert Nickelsberg
chronicles the challenges that face Arctic
warriors and how Western forces are overcoming them. —Judith Matloff
A r c ti c
T rai n i n g
A Norwegian army officer directs a helicopter at a live fire
exercise on a blustery, minus 8 degrees Fahrenheit afternoon.
Ballistics and electronic devices function differently in
extreme cold, often jamming or breaking down.
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White Out: Helicopter pilots must land in deep snow, blinded by blowing
powder and fog, creating a potentially deadly environment.
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