Northern Warfare Training Center celebrates 63 years

Photo By Staff Sgt. Patricia McMurphy | Instructors past and present gather to reminisce and share stories of their time with the Northern Warfare Training Center at the school's 63rd Birthday celebration, Nov. 4, 2011.  

FORT WAINWRIGHT, AK, UNITED STATES

11.04.2011

Story by Staff Sgt. Patricia McMurphy 

United States Army Alaska

FORT WAINWRIGHT, Alaska — U.S. Army Alaska has been training soldiers to “battle cold and conquer mountains” at its arctic training center since 1948.

Northern Warfare Training Center instructors, past and present, came together, Nov. 4, to mark its 63rd birthday celebration in Fairbanks.

The NWTC trains soldiers and war-fighters from all branches of service to operate in cold and mountainous terrain.

The NWTC is now finding itself more relevant than ever, because of its similarity to mountainous areas in Afghanistan, according to NWTC commander Maj. Gary McDonald,

Operations in Afghanistan’s rugged terrain have prompted new developments to the center’s curriculum, including a high-angle firing range for training in steep terrain, high-angle rescue training, mountain casualty evaluation and pack-animal training.

The training will be especially useful to units about to operate in rough-terrain inaccessible to motorized vehicles, where stealth and speed are crucial, according to McDonald.

McDonald spoke of one recent course graduate whose career has come full circle at the NWTC.

“There was an older lieutenant colonel that came though the course recently that said the first military school that he went through was the mountaineering course back in 1985 … when he was a second lieutenant,” McDonald said. “He is going to retire next year so the last military school in his career was the Cold Weather course here at NWTC.”

• Date Taken: 11.04.2011
• Date Posted: 09.10.2012 15:10
• Story ID: 94463
• Location: FORT WAINWRIGHT, AK, US