U.S. Army soldiers learn how to ski at Whitetail Ridge Ski
Area and conduct snow patrol training as part of their
participation of the two-week Fort McCoy’s Cold-Weather
Operations Course (CWOC) during February 2018.
U.S.
Army Fort McCoy’s CWOC includes miles of ruck marching in
the cold, building shelters, bivouacking in snow, jumping
into freezing lakes for cold-water immersion training, and
learning to ski.
The CWOC is modeled on the
Cold-Weather Leader Course taught by the Army Northern
Warfare Training Center at Black Rapids, Alaska. CWOC
students learn skills in skiing and snowshoe training as
well as how to use ahkio sleds, said instructor Joe Ernst.
Training also focuses on terrain and weather analysis, risk
management, cold-weather clothing, developing winter
fighting positions in the field, camouflage and concealment
and numerous other areas that are important to know in order
to survive and operate in a cold-weather environment.
U.S. Army video by A.J. Artley Fort McCoy
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