Marines complete Frozen Badger exercise, further test Fort McCoy’s joint capability

Photo By Scott Sturkol | A student in the Cold-Weather Operations Course (CWOC) Class 18-04 participates in cold-water immersion training as part of the course training Feb. 14, 2018, at Fort McCoy, Wis. The students included Marines and Soldiers. In addition to cold-water immersion, CWOC students are trained on a variety of cold-weather subjects, including snowshoe training and skiing as well as how to use ahkio sleds and other gear. Training also focuses on terrain and weather analysis, risk management, cold-weather clothing, developing winter fighting positions in the field, camouflage and concealment, and numerous other areas that are important to know in order to survive and operate in a cold-weather environment. The training is coordinated through the Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security at Fort McCoy. (U.S. Army Photo by Scott T. Sturkol, Public Affairs Office, Fort McCoy, Wis.)  

FORT MCCOY, WI, UNITED STATES

03.08.2018

Story by Scott Sturkol                                                                                        

Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office           

More than 120 Marines with the Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 2 (VMU-2) tested themselves in Wisconsin winter extremes during their Frozen Badger exercise at Fort McCoy from mid-January to late February.

VMU 2 is part of Marine Aircraft Group 14 and the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW) at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C. The Frozen Badger exercise was a training event designed to improve VMU-2’s capabilities in extreme cold-weather environments, according to 2nd MAW Public Affairs.

While deployed to Fort McCoy, the unit operated RQ-21A Blackjack unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in multiple training scenarios from Young Air Assault Strip on South Post.

According to Naval Air Systems Command, the RQ-21A “provides the warfighter with dedicated day and night intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance coverage, target acquisition, and communication relay via a dedicated and cost-effective airborne sensor system capable of delivering actionable intelligence to the tactical commander in real time.”

The expeditionary nature of the Blackjack, according to the command’s fact sheet on the UAV, makes it possible to deploy with minimal footprint from both austere land-based and shipboard environments.

Lance Cpl. Danielle Krenzel with 2nd MAW Public Affairs was on hand to complete video documentation of the UAV operations as well as other training. In one of Krenzel’s approved videos, she interviewed Master Sgt. Rodrigo Marquez with VMU-2 about why the unit was testing the UAVs at Fort McCoy.

“Part of this mission of Frozen Badger (was) to make sure that the aircraft works properly … (and) that the launch and recovery systems work well in the cold,” Marquez said.

Marquez said the extreme cold weather the Marines faced during their time on post, including times when temperatures were as cold as minus 20 degrees, affected their equipment. He said they adapted by using heat blankets to keep frost off of equipment and also brought some equipment indoors to keep it warm before operating it in the cold.

Cpl. John Bachelor, also a VMU-2 Marine, discussed the process of preparing the RQ-21A Blackjack for a mission in another video by Krenzel.

“The process is you have to do preflight (checks) with the UAV to make sure everything is alright,” Bachelor said. They also make sure “you can get a link with (the UAV)” and “good video for the reconnaissance. You have to make sure it’s safe to fly. … Once you make sure that is done, then you can launch the bird.”

The VMU-2 Marines also did many other training events in their time at the installation. This included holding an Advanced Motor Operator Course at Fort McCoy’s Wheeled Vehicle Driving Course on North Post near Whitetail Ridge Ski Area.

Krenzel also covered the Marines training on the driving course and interviewed VMU-2’s Cpl. Nicholas Chapman.

“We held the (course) for some of the (Marines) who haven’t seen what these (vehicles) can do,” Chapman said, referring to the unit’s Humvees. “They learned what (the vehicles) can drive over and what they can do. They’re not just meant to drive on the road.”

The unit members also completed a Combat Lifesaver Course and several participated in the Fort McCoy Cold-Weather Operations Course (CWOC).
Lance Cpl. John Cook with VMU-2 described his participation in skiing training as a student in CWOC Class 18-04 in a video by Lance Cpl. Paige Stade, also with 2nd MAW Public Affairs.

“I learned a lot,” Cook said in the video about skiing. “Being from Texas, you don’t see much snow. It’s kind of a new thing for me. I learned it’s a lot like anything else in life … you just have to go for it. If you fall, you have to get back up and you have to try again. And I fell a lot.”

The Frozen Badger exercise was essentially a smaller continuation of the 2nd MAW’s Ullr Shield exercise that saw more than 1,200 Marines complete cold-weather training at Fort McCoy from early January to early February, said Training Coordination Branch Chief Craig Meeusen with the Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security (DPTMS). Both exercises helped validate Fort McCoy’s joint national training center capability.

“It (was) a great cooperative training effort by everyone involved,” Meeusen said.

Fort McCoy has supported America’s armed forces since 1909. The post’s varied terrain, state-of-the-art ranges, new as well as renovated facilities, and extensive support infrastructure combine to provide military personnel with an environment in which to develop and sustain the skills necessary for mission success.

Learn more about Fort McCoy online at www.mccoy.army.mil, on Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” and on Twitter by searching “usagmccoy.”

• Date Taken: 03.08.2018
• Date Posted: 03.08.2018 09:06
• Story ID: 268545
• Location: FORT MCCOY, WI, US
• Hometown: CHERRY POINT, NC, US
• Hometown: MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, NC, US