Ice Breakers: Marines Practise Arctic Survival Skills

Pictures: US Department of Defense.

Royal Marines have been passing on cold weather survival skills to their US counterparts in one of the most demanding environments on earth.

Winter training in northern Norway is considered to be one of the most challenging and unpredictable, where the environment is snowbound for months at a time and full of life-threatening hazards.

A major element of Exercise White Claymore involves ice breaking drills, where marines have to deal with the prospect of falling into freezing cold water. 

Winter training in Norway can last up to three months. 45 Commando Instructor, Colour Sergeant Richard Jefferey, says combating the cold is a constant threat to the troops.

"Once they've got over the daunting prospect of working in the cold it instills in the guys that they can do this"

Every year members of the Royal Marines and Royal Navy deploy to Norway's Arctic Circle to undergo training in cold weather warfare.

Thousands of personnel from various countries have participated in Norway's Cold Weather Training exercise, including Canada, France, The Netherlands, Sweden, Latvia, Estonia, Switzerland, Finland, Spain and Denmark.