Winter Warfare

Supporting maneuver in ice, snow, cold

- 1st Lt. Anthony Lombino

Russia, China and North Korea: Many of the United States’ potential adversaries live and routinely operate in frigid and snow covered environments. They are experts in winter warfare. Their artillery has no qualms with sending rounds downrange and delivering effects on target in subzero temperatures. If the U.S. wants to compete with these powers in the realm of indirect Fires we must increase our capability to operate in these same conditions.

The Soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, N.Y., are no strangers to the snow and cold. Second Brigade Combat Team’s recent culminating training exercise (CTE) gave 2nd Battalion, 15th Field Artillery Regiment significant experience with shooting, moving and communicating in winter conditions. We ran into our share of problems, but the lessons we took away from these experiences and the cold weather training in preparation for this event taught us an effective approach to supporting the maneuver fight under these conditions.

Winter is long in Fort Drum. There is usually snow on the ground from mid-October to mid-April, with temperatures fluctuating between 8 and 29 degrees Fahrenheit. During the CTE, the average temperature was 21 F, with two days of heavy snowfall at the beginning of the exercise. Snow accumulation and heavy winds resulted in snow drifts up to three feet deep. The sunlight hours involve movement and survivability moves, often in deep snow. Snow blindness afflicts drivers and hampers visibility. Heavy snowfall drops this visibility to almost nothing. Nights are even worse with temperatures reaching their lowest. We learned to focus on three areas in order to aid us in these cold weather conditions: equipment, preparation and tactics.