NCO teaches arctic warfare, mountain skills

Published March 4, 2011
By Sgt. Trish McMurphy
USARAK PAO

FORT WAINWRIGHT, Alaska -- Battling cold, climbing peaks at the Army's Northern Warfare  Training Center

Army Rangers, Navy Seals, and Special Forces are all considered elite troops in the U.S. military, and they are highly-trained in their fields and prepared for just about any worst-case scenario.

But what if a helicopter was redirected to a frozen mountain range in Afghanistan?

Would they know how to adapt and overcome the cold and rugged terrain?

If they trained at the Army's Northern Warfare Training Center, the answer would be "yes."
Who's tough enough to train such an elite force?

Army Staff Sgt. Paul Willey, and instructors like him at the NWTC train hundreds of troops each year for arctic survival.

Willey experienced a "helicopter stranded on a mountain top" scenario when his unit was deployed to Afghanistan in 2003.

"... we got pulled into a (quick reaction force) mission, we had to relieve the Rangers for an aircraft that had gone down and it was in the mountains," Willey said, "We're out there and there is snow everywhere, and these guys have their Gore-Tex jackets over BDUs."

"There was a lot of rank and a lot of experience there," he said, "and they had no idea how to survive in the cold, but here comes Willey literally walking around the perimeter trying to modify their uniforms."

He said one of the Rangers asked him, "How do you know all this?"

I just came from Alaska and I learned this at this school," Willey said, referring to the Cold Weather Leaders Course.

Willey attended the course in 2000 and returned three years ago to become an instructor.

Willey has trained Soldiers to survive in the arctic and to traverse difficult mountainous terrain.

Instructors teach everything from the basics of skiing and snowshoeing to rappelling and crossing ravines.

"We teach how to move on snowshoes, we teach them how to move on skis, and they are always going to have their rucksack," Willey said.

"It is more than just a heavy piece of equipment they have to carry around; it has everything they need to survive in there."

All instructors must be able to perform the tasks of the given course to standard and then attend an instructor qualification course, Willey said.

"They have to be able to pitch these classes back to us, their peers, before they even get in front of a student," Willey said.

After new instructors properly demonstrate the lessons they will teach, they are observed for a period of time to make sure they're ready, he said.

Instructors also take courses above and beyond what is taught at the NWTC, Willey said, "just to make us better instructors."

Soldiers go to Anchorage for advanced avalanche courses, Joshua Tree National Park in California for advanced mountain training, and go through what Willey describes as a "(combat life saver) class on steroids."

While he teaches advanced skills unique to mountainous and arctic environments, Willey said he also stresses the importance of soldiering basics.

"We give a land navigation refresher and I have had (sergeants first class) that have failed," Willey said. "It's amazing, because everyone is so reliant on their GPS. What happens when the batteries die?"

"By the time they leave here they have a better understanding of how their equipment works and how to use it successfully," he  said.

Because of their skills and expertise, instructors are sometimes called upon to assist in search and recovery missions with the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command.

At one recovery site, Willey said, "we put in hand lines and cut the steps and did everything to make sure (the recovery team) could traverse to the top safely."

Willey will soon be leaving Alaska for another duty assignment.

He said he will pass on his wealth of knowledge to his new Soldiers and peers, so if one day, they ever encounter arctic or mountainous terrain, in Afghanistan, for example, they will know how to survive and accomplish their mission safely.