As of March 7th, the Alaska National Guard has been participating in specific U.S. Navy military operations geared towards gaining experience in Arctic conditions.
According to the National Guard, ICEX 2018, a five-week-long event, allows the Navy to develop its understanding and preparedness in the Arctic. More than 50 Alaska National Guardsmen are supporting the Navy in this endeavor.
Their training scenarios involve Black Hawk helicopters carrying enough fuel to land at a temporary ice camp located on a sheet of ice in the Arctic Ocean, air dropping materials in the frozen Beaufort Sea, as well as transporting people and equipment in various cold weather conditions. This training is also linked to the Alaska National Guard’s 2018 Arctic Eagle operation, which concluded earlier this month.
The Navy’s ICEX 2018 military exercise is anticipated to continue through mid-April.
Image at top: U.S. Navy equipment is air dropped from an Alaska Air National Guard C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Balinda O’Neal Dresel.)
