Marines with HMH-366 conduct cold-weather training in Maine

BRUNSWICK, ME, UNITED STATES

12.07.2021

Story by Lance Cpl. Christian Cortez 

2nd Marine Aircraft Wing   

BRUNSWICK, MAINE – Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron (HMH) 366, a subordinate unit of 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW) and a squadron based in New River, North Carolina, conducted cold-weather training in Brunswick, Maine, Dec. 7-17, 2021.
The training was primarily in preparation for Exercise Cold Response 2022 (CR22), which is a biennial Norwegian national readiness and defense exercise that takes place across Norway with participation from the United States and other NATO forces. Approximately 5,000 Marines and Sailors assigned to II Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) are scheduled to participate in CR22.
The exercise is designed to enhance military capabilities and allied cooperation in high-intensity warfighting in a challenging arctic environment with rugged terrain and extreme cold weather. In preparation for CR22, 2nd MAW units conducted training in locations such as Maine to ensure combat efficiency and readiness in the dynamic Norwegian training environment and climate.
“In order to operate in Norway, we need to prepare for that so that we’re not caught off guard when we first move out to the area,” said U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Daniel Lillie, a CH-53E Super Stallion pilot with HMH-366. “We have to be able to fight in any clime and place, and Norway is no exception.”
The training exercise was one of several exercises the Marine Corps has conducted in preparation for CR22. With Brunswick being just outside the winding mountains of the northern Appalachia, it provided the Marines with realistic and applicable experience to prepare them for the frigid conditions they will encounter when they deploy to Norway in March.
“It’s a drastic difference from the day-to-day operations that we have in North Carolina,” said Lillie. “The moisture’s different; the temperature’s different; and the wind’s different. Even the amount of daylight that we have, the angle of the sun, it all changes. It’s a lot of different things that when you move more north, you have to adapt for.”
HMH-366 provides the Marine Air-Ground Task Force, the principal warfighting organization of the Marine Corps, with a wide range of capabilities ranging from assault support, tactical recovery of aircraft and personnel, air delivery of supplies and vehicles, and operational flexibility. During the exercise in Maine, the squadron practiced some of these capabilities along mountainous terrain in whiteout conditions where the rotor wash of the helicopters picked up the snow, recirculating it through the rotor system, which drastically reduced the pilots’ visibility.
“We conducted a bunch of confined-area landings into landing zones that had snow on the ground, allowing us to experience what it’s like to whiteout, where we land through the cloud of snow that comes around us,” said Lillie. “[We’re] getting away more from the desert environments that we’ve been preparing for many years and looking more towards the future where there could be potentially colder environments we operate in.”
The training in Maine demonstrated 2nd MAW’s readiness and ability to support the MAGTF and II MEF to accomplish the mission in any clime and place.
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DVIDS: http://www.dvidshub.net/unit/2dMAW
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• Date Taken: 12.07.2021
• Date Posted: 02.02.2022 07:41
• Story ID: 412539
• Location: BRUNSWICK, ME, US
• Hometown: ROCHESTER, MI, US