The soldiers of Task Force Phoenix faced several worst-case scenarios during a Culminating Training Exercise (CTE) over 10 days in April 2021. Indirect fire attacks, downed aircraft, improvised explosive device (IED) attacks on ground vehicles â everything but the kitchen sink was thrown at them.
This occurred while the task force was executing typical aviation tasks its soldiers will perform during an upcoming deployment overseas, such as VIP flights and Forward Arming and Refueling Point (FARP) operations.
âThe CTE prepared us not only for the mission weâll be expected to perform downrange, but for many unplanned contingencies as well,â Task Force Phoenix commander Col. Alan Gronewold said. âWe brought together units from nine states to form a team and we conducted pretty intense operations to build that team.â
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Fort Wainwright is located near Fairbanks, Alaska about 200 miles from the Arctic circle. It has earned the reputation of being the military’s coldest military installation. And for good reason. Temperatures in the wintertime routinely drop to less than 20 degrees below zero and can stay there for weeks at a time. But the cold doesn’t stop the training. In fact, the fort is home to the Army’s Northern Warfare Training Center. About 500 soldiers pass every year through the center. Those soldiers learn the secret to surviving and operating militarily in the extreme cold. While there are lots we can’t tell you about their training, we have extracted the three basic principles by which these soldiers live during their cold-weather survival training. Pay attention, as these principles are lifesavers.