News: Exercise Cold Response 2022 – NATO and partner forces deal with freezing temperatures in Norway, 07-Mar-2022
What does it take to defend, fight and survive in an arctic environment? What do you do if you fall through the ice while carrying 20 kilograms of military gear? Cold Response 2022 is a long-planned exercise bringing together thousands of troops from NATO allies and partners, testing their ability to work together in cold weather across Norway – on land, in the air and at sea.
The host country
Every year, NATO organizes dozens of military exercises. NATO members also organize national exercises involving other Allies. Cold Response 2022 is hosted by the Norwegian Armed Forces. Read more about exercise on their website.
Over the next few weeks, Allied and partner militaries will roam the vast wilderness, conduct live-fire exercises, jump into frozen lakes and more. It is about training vital skills, ensuring our armed forces are ready to respond to any threat or crisis – and keeping our countries and peoples safe. Cold Response 2022 brings together Allies from Europe and North America, demonstrating the enduring transatlantic bond at the heart of NATO.
The basics
- WHO: Approximately 30,000 soldiers from 27 countries in Europe and North America
- WHAT: Train together in cold weather exercises – on land, in the air and at sea
- OR: NATO ally Norway and surrounding seas
- WHEN: March-April 2022
- WHY: Help Allies and partners practice working together so they are prepared for any situation
Cold Response 2022 is a long-planned and regular exercise, which Norway holds every two years. This year’s exercise was announced more than eight months ago. It is unrelated to Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine, to which NATO is responding with preventive, proportionate and non-escalating measures.
Did you know? Norway was a founding member of NATO in 1949.
Why did Norway, a neutral country closely linked to its neighbours, join an Atlantic alliance in 1949 instead of a Scandinavian union? How have the Norwegians encouraged greater cultural and economic cooperation among NATO allies? And who was the “breakfast diplomat”? Find out on NATO Declassified!
Embrace the Cold – NATO and Winter Operations
Allied forces must be ready to operate in any environment and under any conditions. Training in Norway allows Allies and NATO partners to practice their skills by operating in extreme and rugged environments, from frozen fjords to shivering seas and ice-encrusted mountains. There’s a reason Norway hosts the NATO Center of Excellence for Cold Weather Operations!
But many other NATO Allies conduct exercises and also help develop this expertise, from the bitterly cold Baltics to the isolated volcanic beaches of Iceland to the Canadian High Arctic. Watch the videos below to see the cold weather troops in action.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=videoseries
From Arctic Express to Trident Juncture – a long legacy of exercises in Norway
Norway has hosted exercises with NATO Allies and partners since the early 1950s. From Anchor Express to Northern Express, from Atlas Express to Winter Express, over the decades Norway has helped the Allies and their partners to learn to operate together on its rugged northern terrain. Exercise Cold Response itself was first held in 2006. Click through the gallery to view archival footage of soldiers during these exercises and the beautiful Norwegian countryside where they trained.
Why do we do sports?
Regular exercises allow NATO and its partners to train together, to identify what is working and what needs improvement. The exercises are defensive, proportionate and announced months in advance. NATO Allies respect the transparency obligations set out in the OSCE Vienna Document, which governs the rules for military exercises in the Euro-Atlantic area.
Under the transparency obligations of the Vienna Document, Norway invited all OSCE member states to send observers to the exercise. The head of the Norwegian joint headquarters also briefed the commander of the Russian Northern Fleet on Cold Response 2022 during a video call in January 2022.
Find out why it’s important for NATO and partner forces to train together on land, at sea, in the air and in cyberspace.
What’s it like to be a soldier in a NATO exercise? This video walks you through a day in the life.