In northern Finland, temperatures regularly drop below -20 degrees Celsius, which makes it the ideal place to train military personnel from Allied countries on how to survive in the cold.
Synopsis
In Lapland, northern Finland, where temperatures regularly drop below -20 degrees Celsius, Finnish instructors from the Finnish Defence Forces’ Jaeger Brigade run different courses for military personnel from various NATO countries.
In this iteration, course participants came from France, the United Kingdom, the United States as well as Finland.
The course focuses on subjects such as using layered clothing, protecting against and treatment of injuries related to frostbite, sustaining performance capability, making fires, developing cross-country skiing skills and rescuing from the ice.
Footage includes various shots of course participants from Finland, France, the UK and the US receiving instruction in fire lighting, skiing and ice rescue.
Transcript
---SHOTLIST—
(00:00) VARIOUS AERIAL SHOTS (MUTE) – TRAINING AREA IN SODANKYLÄ, FINLAND
(00:11) VARIOUS CLASSROOM SHOTS – COURSE PARTICIPANTS FROM FRANCE, FINLAND, THE UK AND THE US LEARN FROM FINNISH INSTRUCTORS ABOUT OPERATING IN COLD WEATHER
(00:36) VARIOUS SHOTS – MULTINATIONAL TROOPS LEARN HOW TO MAKE, LIGHT AND MAINTAIN A FIRE IN A COLD WEATHER ENVIRONMENT USING A FIRE STEEL
(01:27) VARIOUS SLOW MOTION SHOTS (MUTE) – PARTICIPANTS TEND TO THEIR FIRES
(02:00) VARIOUS POV SHOTS – COURSE MEMBER CUTS WOOD AND LIGHTS A FIRE
(02:22) VARIOUS AERIAL SHOTS (MUTE) – COURSE PARTICIPANTS BUILD AND LIGHT FIRES IN THE EXERCISE AREA IN FINLAND
(02:37) VARIOUS SHOTS – COURSE PARTICIPANTS LEARN HOW TO OPERATE ON SKIS IN DEEP SNOW
(03:21) SLOW MOTION CLOSE-UP SHOT – SKIS AND BOOTS OF PARTICIPANT MOVING THROUGH THE SNOW
(03:30) VARIOUS AERIAL SHOTS (MUTE) – PARTICIPANTS SKI DOWN SLOPE TOWARDS THE REST OF THE GROUP
(03:43) VARIOUS SHOTS – COURSE PARTICIPANTS PLUNGE INTO A HOLE CUT INTO AN ICY LAKE IN FINLAND IN A CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT
(04:37) VARIOUS SLOW-MOTION SHOTS (MUTE) – COURSE PARTICIPANTS PLUNGE INTO THE ICY WATER
(04:56) VARIOUS SHOTS – COURSE PARTICIPANTS EXIT THE ICY PLUNGE POOL UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF THE INSTRUCTORS WHO ASK THEM QUESTIONS TO TEST THEIR MENTAL STATE BEFORE THEY EXIT
(06:30) VARIOUS SLOW-MOTION SHOTS (MUTE) – COURSE PARTICIPANTS IN THE ICY WATER
(06:57) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – STAFF SERGEANT CHRISTOPHER KOEHLER, UNITED STATES AIR FORCE
“I’m actually a SERE instructor for the US Air Force and we were tasked with coming out here to learn from the people who know best about what the Arctic Circle is like so that we can better train our forces, our war fighters, our pilots, our operators.”
(07:10) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – STAFF SERGEANT JUSTIN GARRISON, UNITED STATES ARMY
“First and foremost, the environment is a lot tougher. I’m used to the swamps of Louisiana, very hot. So it’s a huge change of pace coming out here in the cold. Really puts us to the test.”
(07:21) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – STAFF SERGEANT JUSTIN GARRISON, UNITED STATES ARMY
“Well the Finns, they’ve been doing this their whole lives so I think they have a deeper knowledge within their society and what better place to learn than from the source itself.”
(07:30) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – STAFF SERGEANT JUSTIN GARRISON, UNITED STATES ARMY
“When you’re not doing anything, you’re just standing still, it is brutally cold. So that’s the importance of following what the Finns are teaching and layering up properly but also knowing when to layer down on movements and different things so you’re not sweating too much, which can just cause further problems.”
(07:45) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – LIEUTENANT RUPERT ELMHIRST, THE BRITISH ARMY
“So we’re 120 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle so obviously that brings in a whole ream of different issues in terms of the length of day, the fact that everything’s frozen all the time. There’s no warmth from the sun. There’s no let up during the day. It’s almost as cold during the day as it is at night, the variations are not as much.”
(08:05) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – MAJOR MIKAEL AIKIO, CHIEF OF THE ARCTIC SECTION, JAEGER BRIGADE
“For the students, it’s a plus to have soldiers from different nationalities with different backgrounds so they can learn from each other.”
(08:05) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – MAJOR MIKAEL AIKIO, CHIEF OF THE ARCTIC SECTION, JAEGER BRIGADE
“As we are part of NATO, for us it’s important that other nations are also capable of surviving and fighting in these conditions.”
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