Here’s How Airmen Are Training to Survive in the Arctic
March 15, 2022 | By Amy Hudson
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska—The temperature hovered in the mid-teens, and the skies were crystal blue here March 14 as members of the Alaska Air National Guard’s 211th Rescue Squadron prepared for a seven-hour round-trip flight north, well into the Arctic Circle. The mission, part of the ongoing biannual Arctic Edge exercise, was to drop an Arctic Sustainment Package, consisting of Guardian Angel Airmen and a pallet of survival gear, onto an ice pack 200 miles off the northern coast of Alaska where they would set up camp.
Despite the near-perfect conditions on the ground, the weather can change in an instant in the Arctic, and crews know they must be prepared for anything.
“Weather is great here, but it doesn’t look great up north,” said Capt. Chris McKnight, the mission’s HC-130J pilot. “It’s [going to be] white on white. It’s like flying in a golf ball.”
The temperature also will plummet. D
March 15, 2022 | By Amy Hudson
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska—The temperature hovered in the mid-teens, and the skies were crystal blue here March 14 as members of the Alaska Air National Guard’s 211th Rescue Squadron prepared for a seven-hour round-trip flight north, well into the Arctic Circle. The mission, part of the ongoing biannual Arctic Edge exercise, was to drop an Arctic Sustainment Package, consisting of Guardian Angel Airmen and a pallet of survival gear, onto an ice pack 200 miles off the northern coast of Alaska where they would set up camp.
Despite the near-perfect conditions on the ground, the weather can change in an instant in the Arctic, and crews know they must be prepared for anything.
“Weather is great here, but it doesn’t look great up north,” said Capt. Chris McKnight, the mission’s HC-130J pilot. “It’s [going to be] white on white. It’s like flying in a golf ball.”
https://www.airforcemag.com/heres-how-airmen-are-training-to-survive-in-the-arctic/
