WEBVTT 00:05.940 --> 00:08.760 - I'm Captain Wes Hineline. 00:08.760 --> 00:13.760 W-E-S, last name H-I-N-E-L-I-N-E. 00:14.010 --> 00:18.810 I'm the company commander for Bravo Company, 70th BEB, 00:18.810 --> 00:22.583 part of 1/25 SBCT at Fort Wainwright, Alaska. 00:29.550 --> 00:32.840 So we're out here as part of Arctic Edge, 00:32.840 --> 00:35.530 the force provided by the USARAK 00:35.530 --> 00:39.120 from Fort Wainwright working jointly 00:39.120 --> 00:42.520 with the Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force 00:42.520 --> 00:45.940 that's out here at Fort Greely conducting a wide variety 00:45.940 --> 00:50.010 of different tactical mission sets that test USARAK's, 00:50.010 --> 00:53.470 US Army Alaska and Alaska Command's, ability 00:53.470 --> 00:57.440 to mission command a joint multi-national force, 00:57.440 --> 01:00.240 combined joint multi-national force here 01:00.240 --> 01:01.663 in Alaska in the Arctic. 01:02.540 --> 01:05.770 And so, as part of that mission, we're here at Fort Greely 01:05.770 --> 01:09.210 in support of base defense operations to enable 01:10.100 --> 01:14.810 the garrison here to provide better security 01:14.810 --> 01:17.340 in the case of contingency, or defense 01:17.340 --> 01:19.300 of the homeland operations. 01:19.300 --> 01:21.900 So kinda what we're exercising right now 01:21.900 --> 01:26.270 is Alaska Command's ability to conduct DSCA operations 01:26.270 --> 01:28.340 in defense of the Arctic. 01:28.340 --> 01:32.010 And specific key infrastructure up here in the Arctic 01:32.010 --> 01:37.010 and to test our ability to work with joint sister services 01:37.090 --> 01:40.188 as well as a multi-national force 01:40.188 --> 01:42.723 in austere Arctic environment. 01:49.690 --> 01:52.640 So, we have, like I said, a joint force, 01:52.640 --> 01:54.240 a multi-national force. 01:54.240 --> 01:57.040 So coming out from Fort Wainwright we've got 01:57.040 --> 02:00.890 a combined arms force that includes engineers, 02:00.890 --> 02:04.520 SFRGs from my company, as well as a platoon of infantry 02:04.520 --> 02:08.663 provided by 1/24 Infantry Battalion up at Fort Wainwright. 02:09.530 --> 02:13.140 And then with the Marines, they came with a Low Altitude 02:13.140 --> 02:17.000 Air Defense unit and an EOD unit that they've attached to us 02:17.000 --> 02:20.680 to support the defense operation that we're conducting here. 02:20.680 --> 02:23.270 And then on top of that, we're also working 02:23.270 --> 02:26.590 with a Canadian unit that's providing forces 02:26.590 --> 02:29.080 to my company, my company team. 02:29.080 --> 02:32.370 And then we're also working with some British forces 02:32.370 --> 02:36.450 that are assisting us in a pretty complex mission set. 02:36.450 --> 02:39.670 And allowing us to test our abilities, 02:39.670 --> 02:42.800 not only to mission command and coordinate 02:42.800 --> 02:45.260 with the Marine services that are up here, 02:45.260 --> 02:48.740 the Marine taskforce, but also to test our ability 02:48.740 --> 02:51.600 to communicate with Canadian forces and British forces 02:51.600 --> 02:54.483 and really hone that ability in the Arctic. 03:00.123 --> 03:03.550 Today is the final day of our mission set 03:03.550 --> 03:04.840 here at Fort Greely. 03:04.840 --> 03:08.270 So we've got forces set up in battle positions 03:08.270 --> 03:10.810 arrayed around the airfield here at Fort Greely 03:10.810 --> 03:13.620 along with some other critical infrastructure 03:13.620 --> 03:15.920 that supports base operations here. 03:15.920 --> 03:19.810 So my team is out in battle positions, 03:19.810 --> 03:22.893 both dismounted and mounted, testing the capabilities 03:22.893 --> 03:26.730 of our equipment to maneuver in the Arctic environment 03:26.730 --> 03:29.940 as well as our soldiers to implement skills 03:29.940 --> 03:33.130 that they've learned that allow them to conduct 03:33.130 --> 03:34.050 dismounted movement in the Arctic. 03:34.050 --> 03:37.150 So I've got roaming patrols out on skies. 03:37.150 --> 03:40.940 We've built some icecrete battle positions. 03:40.940 --> 03:43.770 We're testing some of our Strykers and our RG's ability 03:43.770 --> 03:47.030 to use their systems that work very well in the summer 03:47.030 --> 03:50.190 and then sometimes need a little extra care in the winter 03:50.190 --> 03:51.850 to get those operational. 03:51.850 --> 03:52.950 So we've got them all set up. 03:52.950 --> 03:56.910 We've got a force of Canadians that are monitoring 03:56.910 --> 03:59.580 air space in real time and allowing us 03:59.580 --> 04:04.580 to really execute a complex mission 04:06.810 --> 04:09.550 that takes into account the varied threats, 04:09.550 --> 04:11.550 both conventional and nonconventional 04:11.550 --> 04:15.893 that could be used against us in an Arctic conflict. 04:22.580 --> 04:24.980 I think it's a tremendous opportunity for us 04:24.980 --> 04:27.460 as a force at Fort Wainwright, 04:27.460 --> 04:30.030 it's kind of America's premier force in the Arctic 04:30.030 --> 04:33.650 to train along with partners in the Arctic, 04:33.650 --> 04:36.250 strategic partners like the Canadians that are up here. 04:36.250 --> 04:39.800 And then some of the other units, 04:39.800 --> 04:41.290 including the Marine Air-Ground Task Force 04:41.290 --> 04:45.282 that is working extremely hard up here to test 04:45.282 --> 04:50.282 the Marine equipment set and mission command infrastructure 04:50.290 --> 04:52.240 in an extremely austere environment. 04:52.240 --> 04:57.240 So I think, short of actual conflict, there's no environment 04:57.860 --> 05:02.860 like the Arctic to test systems, complex systems 05:03.769 --> 05:05.873 in a friction rich environment. 05:06.950 --> 05:10.540 As we see here, the weather's an extreme challenge up here. 05:10.540 --> 05:14.810 So, it's definitely tested our ability at Fort Wainwright 05:14.810 --> 05:17.800 to implement a lot of the train up strategies 05:17.800 --> 05:19.620 that we employ throughout the year to make sure 05:19.620 --> 05:21.010 our soldiers are ready in the Arctic. 05:21.010 --> 05:22.500 And it's given us a great opportunity to share 05:22.500 --> 05:26.500 some of those lessons learned with both partner nations 05:26.500 --> 05:31.500 and with the other joint force that's up here. 05:32.280 --> 05:34.240 So, it's really an incredibly opportunity for us 05:34.240 --> 05:36.740 to be out here as America's Arctic warriors 05:36.740 --> 05:38.990 as well as the other forces that are up here.