FORT MCCOY, Wis. — Marines with the 6th Regiment of Camp Lejuene in North Carolina came to Fort McCoy to participate in a cold-weather training course throughout early December.
Over 150 Marines took part in the Cold-Weather Operations Course (CWOC), which ran from Dec. 1 through 9. There will be five additional sessions throughout the winter with other Marine regiments, which will wrap up in March 2022.
The CWOC involves learning about a wide variety of cold-weather subjects, such as skiing and snowshoe training, how to build improvised shelters, and how to use ahkio sleds and a 10-person cold tent. Marines must also complete miles of ruck marching in cold and snowy conditions, as well as risk management and preventing cold-weather injuries.
Hunter Heard, one of the senior CWOC instructors overseeing the training, says that the training began with classes taught at Camp Lejeune.
"Phase 2 was when the Marines deployed to Fort McCoy on Dec. 1," Heard said. "For the 6th Marines, their phase three will then be a deployment to Norway. For us, we will receive one more group of Marines out of Cherry Point (N.C.) from Dec. 14 to 17 as well, and we will run them through a similar field training exercise lane like the first groups of Marines."
