U.S. Marines with Marine Rotational Force - Europe take part in Exercise Freezing Winds 24 in Finland. Freezing Winds is an annual Finnish-led maritime exercise involving U.S. Marines assigned to Marine Rotational Force – Europe and serves as a venue to increase Finnish Naval readiness and interoperability between NATO partners and allies in and around the Baltic Sea. (U.S. Marine Corps Video by Sgt. Gavin Umboh, Cpl. Meshaq Hylton, and Cpl. Christian Salazar)
U.S. Marine musicians assigned to the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW) Band perform in St. Georges d'Espéranche, France, from Nov. 24, 2024. The 2nd MAW Band traveled from Cherry Point, North Carolina, to St. Georges d'Espéranche to perform two concerts for local school children, two large concerts for the public and to participate in a ceremony commemorating the 80th anniversary of the liberation of France during WWII. The concerts and ceremony showcased the long-standing relationship between the people of the United States and France and reinforced that music is a universal language understood by all. Together, the United States and our indispensable allies continue to demonstrate the strength of alliance and dedicated resolve borne out of World War II and forged over eight decades of combat-credible deterrence and defense. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Gunnery Sgt. Donato Maffin)
The Norwegian Armed Forces, the U.S. Marine Corps, and other NATO allies, are scheduled to conduct Exercise Joint Viking 25 in March 2025. Allied militaries have been conducting unit-level cold weather training in Norway since the beginning of January in preparation for the exercise.
Exercise Joint Viking 25, one of the largest routine winter warfare exercises held in the region, takes place in the challenging terrain of northern Norway, providing realistic and demanding conditions for all participating forces. The exercise focuses on various cold-weather combat operations, including small-unit tactics, defensive operations, force integration drills, and logistics in extreme environments. This exercise is part of a regular training...
U.S. Marines and Sailors with Marine Rotational Force-Europe (MRF-E) prepared to deploy to Finland and integrate with the Finnish Defense Force for exercise Freezing Winds 24 by completing integrated training Oct. 15 – Nov. 28, 2024.
