CAMP RIPLEY, Minnesota--Three New York Air National Guard security forces Airmen earned the right to wear an “Arctic” tab after making it through the Air National Guard’s grueling 16-Day Cold Weather Operations Course held in January in northern Minnesota.
They dealt with sub-zero temperatures, wolves tracking them as they walked the woods in arctic-like conditions, and learned what it takes to survive and fight in the bitter cold.
“You don’t understand how cold it is until you’re there,” said Tech Sgt. Kevin Meehan, a member of the 105th Airlift Wing’s Base Defense Squadron.
“It might say it’s only negative five but with wind chill it’s just a different kind of cold, and there’s no respite from it,” Meehan...
