U.S. Marines and Sailors practice amphibious landings during Trident Juncture 2018 in Alvund, Norway, Oct. 29, 2018. The Norwegian geography and climate provides a unique training environment for Marines and Sailors to help strengthen forces and enhance combat readiness. U.S. Navy Sailors are among 14,000 participants from the U.S. Army, Marine Corps and Air Force in with 31 NATO allies and partner nations. Trident Juncture 18 is designed to test NATO’s ability to plan and conduct a major collective defense operation – from troop training at the tactical level, to command over large elements of a NATO force. Department of Defense video Allied Joint Forces Command (Released)
00:00:03:02
U.S. Marine Corps - Lieutenant General Robert F. Hedelund, commander, II Marine Expeditionary Force, US Marine Corps “So the logistics, distance that we have to cover in order to make a successful
landing and a successful operation is clearly daunting, but the conditions as well, is something that we haven’t worked in as a large unit in a while. Over the last year or so, many Marines have come to Norway to train, but not on this scale. The entire Marine Expeditionary Force has come to Norway to participate in the exercise.”
00:00:03:33
US Navy Admiral James Foggo, commander, NATO Joint Force Command Naples “...for a lot of senior Marines that have been doing this for a while, they’ve had their boots in the sand, in places like Iraq and Afghanistan. Norwegians have been there too, but this is a lot different for the United States Marine Corps to come here to this archipelago, and to fight in cold weather. In fact, I was back in the States a few weeks ago, and people ask me, ‘Why in the world are you doing this in October and November in Norway? It’s cold,’ and I said, ‘That’s exactly why we’re doing it. Because we’re going to acclimate our people to the environment that we may actually have to deter and defend in someday.’ So this is invaluable training, and there’s not many places in the world you can get it.”
