Synopsis
Members of the British Army's 3rd Armoured Engineer Squadron, the British Army's 127th Battery Royal Artillery and the Royal Air Force's Aviation Task Force took part in the Cold Weather Operator’s Course near Tallinn, Estonia.
The course ensures that NATO’s multinational battlegroup in Estonia – with the United Kingdom as framework nation - is ready to operate in the cold winter conditions of northern Europe. Members of the Royal Air Force who are currently assigned to nearby Ämari Air Base - where they support NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission - also took part in the course.
Footage includes various shots of British Army soldiers on the Cold Weather Operator’s Course in Estonia, marching through snowy woodland, practising a fire and movement serial and building shelters and fires in the forest.
Transcript
---SHOTLIST—
(00:00) WIDE SHOT - TROOPS FROM THE UNITED KINGDOM PREPARE TO START THE SURVIVAL PHASE OF THE COLD WEATHER OPERATOR’S COURSE
(00:06) MID SHOT – CHIEF INSTRUCTOR, COLOUR SERGEANT SYKES OF THE ROYAL MARINES, BRIEFS THE SOLDIERS ON WHAT TO EXPECT
(00:13) VARIOUS SHOTS – UK SOLDIERS FROM NATO’S MULTINATIONAL BATTLEGROUP ESTONIA WALK DOWN ICEY PATHS THROUGH SNOWY WOODLAND CARRYING LARGE AMOUNTS OF EQUIPMENT
(00:50) VARIOUS SLOW MOTION SHOTS (MUTE) – UK SOLDIERS WALK DOWN ICEY PATHS AND THROUGH WOODLAND IN ESTONIA
(01:21) VARIOUS AERIAL SHOTS (MUTE) – UK SOLDIERS WALK THROUGH ESTONIAN WOODLAND ON THE COLD WEATHER OPERATOR’S COURSE
(01:59) VARIOUS SHOTS – UK SOLDIERS PREPARE TO TAKE PART IN A FIRE AND MOVEMENT SERIAL IN THE SNOW
(02:18) VARIOUS SHOTS – UK SOLDIERS FIRE BLANK AMMUNITION DURING FIRE AND MOVEMENT SERIAL
(02:44) VARIOUS SLOW MOTION SHOTS (MUTE) – UK SOLDIERS FIRE BLANK AMMUNITION DURING FIRE AND MOVEMENT SERIAL
(03:36) VARIOUS SHOTS – UK SOLDIERS RECEIVE BRIEFING BEFORE HEADING TO PRACTISE THE OCCUPATION OF A TEMPORARY BASE DURING COLD WEATHER OPERATOR’S COURSE
(03:51) VARIOUS SHOTS – UK SOLDIERS WALK THROUGH WOODLAND TO TAKE UP POSITIONS DURING OCCUPATION OF A TEMPORARY BASE PHASE OF THE COURSE
(04:O2) VARIOUS SLOW MOTION SHOTS (MUTE) – UK SOLDIERS WALK THROUGH WOODLAND IN ESTONIA
(04:11) VARIOUS SHOTS – UK SOLDIERS TAKE UP POSITIONS IN FOREST DURING COLD WEATHER OPERATOR’S COURSE
(04:21) VARIOUS SLOW MOTION SHOTS (MUTE) – UK SOLDIERS IN POSITION IN ESTONIAN WOODLAND
(04:39) AERIAL SHOT (MUTE) – UK SOLDIERS IN POSITION IN FOREST
(04:54) VARIOUS SHOTS – UK SOLDIERS COLLECT WOOD AND FOLIAGE TO BUILD A TEMPORARY SHELTER DURING SURVIVAL PHASE OF COLD WEATHER OPERATOR’S COURSE IN ESTONIA
(05:07) VARIOUS SHOTS – UK SOLDIERS USE ROPE TO TIE TEMPORARY SHELTER TOGETHER
(05:32) MID SHOT – UK SOLDIERS PUT BRANCHES ON THE WALLS OF THE TEMPORARY SHELTERS
(06:14) VARIOUS SHOTS – UK SOLDIERS MAKE FIRES IN ESTONIAN WOODLAND FOR WARMTH AND TO COOK ON
(06:49) VARIOUS SHOTS – UK SOLDIERS PREPARE A POT TO HANG OVER THE FIRE
(07:13) VARIOUS SHOTS – TEMPORARY CAMPS MADE BY UK SOLDIERS IN VARIOUS STAGES OF COMPLETION
(07:40) SLOW MOTION SHOT (MUTE) – CAMPFIRE BURNING
(07:46) VARIOUS AERIAL SHOTS (MUTE) – TEMPORARY CAMPS IN VARIOUS STAGES OF COMPLETION
(08:00) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – COLOUR SERGEANT SYKES - CHIEF INSTRUCTOR, COLD WEATHER OPERATOR’S COURSE
“Operating in the cold is uncomfortable and it’s hard work. That old saying of ‘getting comfortable with being uncomfortable’ absolutely rings true out here and that’s what the Cold Weather Operator’s Course is designed to do. At the most basic level, it’s designed to get people out, introduce them to the environment, use the cold weather kit and equipment and essentially be able to operate at the most basic level.”
(08:26) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – COLOUR SERGEANT SYKES - CHIEF INSTRUCTOR, COLD WEATHER OPERATOR’S COURSE
“One the priorities is survival, building a shelter, so absolutely lucky in this environment in that a lot of it is forested so there’s tonnes of building materials there. The guys will go through building shelter, we do a short survival food lesson and cover fires and also water. Down the tactical side, they’ll cover tactical harbour, so digging in, in the snow, creating a tactical harbour. We’ll cover cam and concealment and also get the guys out conducting some basic low-level firing drills just to highlight the difficulty in manipulating a weapons system using gloves, using mittens and essentially having a practice out here in this environment.’
(09:11) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – COLOUR SERGEANT SYKES - CHIEF INSTRUCTOR, COLD WEATHER OPERATOR’S COURSE
“Mobility is probably the biggest thing that affects tactics the most in the cold environment and of course at either side of the winter period you’ve got those thawing conditions where absolutely everything just turns to mud, to slush, and it becomes really difficult for guys to move about.”
(09:28) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – FLIGHT SERGEANT LOIS AINSLEY-ANYAN, ROYAL AIR FORCE, BRITISH ARMED FORCES
“It’s cold, it’s been wet, it’s not as cold as it could have been this time of year so last week it was down to minus 15 whereas this week we’ve had plus temperatures but with the rain which can sometimes be a lot worse, as soon as you get wet, you become cold and if you don’t keep moving it can become pretty treacherous, so… It has been cold. But yeah, we’ll get a fire on and we’ll be fine later on. Everyone will be happy.”
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