Photo Essay: CWOC Class 20-02 students complete cold-water immersion training at Fort McCoy

Photo By Scott Sturkol | A Fort McCoy Cold-Weather Operations Course (CWOC) Class 20-02 student participates in cold-water immersion training Jan. 17, 2020, at Big Sandy Lake on South Post at Fort McCoy, Wis. CWOC students are trained on a variety of cold-weather subjects, including snowshoe training and skiing as well as how to use ahkio sleds and other gear. 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. The training is coordinated through the Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security at Fort McCoy. (U.S. Army Photo by Scott T. Sturkol, Public Affairs Office, Fort McCoy, Wis.)  

FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, UNITED STATES

02.05.2020

Story by Scott Sturkol                                                                                               

Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office           

Fort McCoy Cold-Weather Operations Course (CWOC) Class 20-02 students participated in cold-water immersion training Jan. 17, 2020, at Big Sandy Lake on South Post at Fort McCoy, Wis.

The training is part of the curriculum for CWOC. A large hole is cut in the ice at the lake by CWOC staff, then a safe and planned regimen is followed to allow each participant to jump into the icy water. Emergency-response personnel are also nearby in case they’re needed.

“The experience of a service member being introduced to water in an extreme-cold environment is a crucial task for waterborne operations and confidence building,” said CWOC instructor Joe Ernst. “Our students get fully immersed in the water while doing the training. Once they are in the water, they will stay in anywhere from one to three minutes but never longer than three minutes.”

As each student took the plunge into the icy-cold water, making sure they also went under water, their reaction was immediate.

“For a person to fall into water in that environment, the onset of panic generally introduces itself quickly,” Ernst said. “For our service members who will be operating in an extreme-cold environment, it is a task that, if not trained for, can produce unnecessary casualties.”

CWOC students are trained on a variety of cold-weather subjects, including snowshoe training and skiing as well as how to use ahkio sleds and other gear.

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.

The training is coordinated through the Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security at Fort McCoy.

The training is coordinated through the Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security at Fort McCoy.

Located in the heart of the upper Midwest, Fort McCoy is the only U.S. Army installation in Wisconsin. The installation has provided support and facilities for the field and classroom training of more than 100,000 military personnel from all services each year since 1984.

Learn more about Fort McCoy online at https://home.army.mil/mccoy, on Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” and on Twitter by searching “usagmccoy.

• Date Taken: 02.05.2020
• Date Posted: 02.05.2020 16:13
• Story ID: 361886
• Location: FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US