JERICHO, VT -- With the Afghan winter in full swing, US military officials are taking a keen interest in an unlikely locale - a remote Army outpost in the mountains of Northern Vermont.
The Mountain Warfare School in Jericho, about 20 miles east of Burlington in the heart of the Green Mountains, has been training Army soldiers, Special Forces and Rangers in the art of "military mountaineering" for 20 years. With the war in Afghanistan lingering into January and the heart of Afghanistan's notoriously harsh winter, the skills learned at the Warfare School are taking on an added importance.
Last month, the military sent a team of mountain warfare instructors to the Rockies to train forces to operate successfully in Afghan-like conditions, according to Mountain Warfare School Commander Terry Lambert.
"They wanted the high altitude and the depth of snow," said Lambert, when asked why the advanced training in mountain and cold weather techniques took place in the Rockies and not in northern Vermont. "If that's what the requester wants, we'll go wherever they want to go."
The request for specific winter-weather training was the first the School has received related specifically to the war in Afghanistan, but it is unlikely to be the last. The School is the Army's only training facility geared specifically toward training troops to fight in winter weather conditions, training that is gaining in relevance, according to Lieutenant Colonel Michael Bullock, Commander the Army's only battalion fully trained in military mountaineering.
"What we do is inherently dangerous, but it's not unsafe," Bullock said. "We counter dangerous situations with necessary safety precautions."
Hundreds of students attend the Mountain Warfare School every year to learn a variety of techniques and skills aimed at helping them survive and succeed in extreme weather conditions. Soldiers train in freezing conditions for 15 hours a day in an intensive two-week course aimed at giving them the necessary skills to confront everything from avalanches to frostbite.
"For a lot of us, this is the first time in this environment," said Captain Mark Purdy, 31, who serves in a Ranger battalion in rural Georgia. "Although we've been in the cold, living in it is different."
Purdy was completing his 10th day at the Army Mountain School and preparing to sleep in a canvas tent in the school's Command Post in Smuggler's Notch, where temperatures the night before had dipped to seven degrees Fahrenheit.
During the day, Purdy and other students braved snow, wind and freezing temperatures to participate in a four-mile hike up Mt. Mansfield, Vermont's highest peak at just under 4,400 feet. Along the way, students were tested in ice climbing along a 100-foot ice-coated cliff referred to by School personnel as the "mountain classroom." Higher up the mountain, students paired off to simulate an avalanche rescue along a steep drop-off known as "the chute."
After completing the avalanche rescue, Captain Gregg Langevin, 31, of Southbridge, Mass., said he enjoyed the intensive training and was gaining confidence in his abilities to function in extreme conditions.
"I'm not going to say I'm an expert, but I'm professional enough not to get myself killed," said Langevin, who is also a veteran of the Warfare School's complimentary two-week summer course.
In terms of fighting in Afghanistan, Lieutenant Colonel Bullock said one of the most important things for soldiers to guard against is the cold.
"One of the keys in Afghanistan is the elevation rise," said Bullock, who noted that the Afghan terrain ranges from 2,000 to 21,000 feet above sea level. "For every 1,000 feet, the temperature drops five degrees."
Although northern Vermont does not have comparable mountains to Afghanistan, Mountain Warfare officials like to point out that New England does feature "some of the worst weather on the face of the Earth."
The region is affected by virtually every weather front that makes its way across the country. Eighty miles east of the School, Mt. Washington in New Hampshire has withstood the highest wind velocity ever recorded, 231 miles per hour. At that point, Lambert said, the equipment measuring the wind blew away.
US forces have taken lessons from Russian difficulties in Afghanistan and are now deploying in smaller unites, improving their mobility and their ability to operate in difficult weather and terrain, according to Lambert.
"What is taking place over there is exactly what the Mountain Warfare School teaches here," Lambert said.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.
Your Comments
iBerkshires.com welcomes critical, respectful dialogue. Name-calling, personal attacks, libel, slander or foul language is not allowed. All comments are reviewed before posting and will be deleted or edited as necessary.
No Comments
Berkshire County Homes Celebrating Holiday Cheer
By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
There's holiday cheer throughout the Berkshires this winter.
Many homeowners are showing their holiday spirit by decorating their houses. We asked for submissions so those in the community can check out these fanciful lights and decor when they're out.
We asked the homeowners questions on their decorations and why they like to light up their houses.
In Great Barrington, Matt Pevzner has decorated his house with many lights and even has a Facebook page dedicated to making sure others can see the holiday joy.
Located at 93 Brush Hill Road, there's more than 61,000 lights strewn across the yard decorating trees and reindeer and even a polar bear.
The Pevzner family started decorating in September by testing their hundreds of boxes of lights. He builds all of his own decorations like the star 10-foot star that shines done from 80-feet up, 10 10-foot trees, nine 5-foot trees, and even the sleigh, and more that he also uses a lift to make sure are perfect each year.
"I always decorated but I went big during COVID. I felt that people needed something positive and to bring joy and happiness to everyone," he wrote. "I strive to bring as much joy and happiness as I can during the holidays. I love it when I get a message about how much people enjoy it. I've received cards thanking me how much they enjoyed it and made them smile. That means a lot."
Pevzner starts thinking about next year's display immediately after they take it down after New Year's. He gets his ideas by asking on his Facebook page for people's favorite decorations. The Pevzner family encourages you to take a drive and see their decorations, which are lighted every night from 5 to 10.
In North Adams, the Wilson family decorates their house with fun inflatables and even a big Santa waving to those who pass by.
The Wilsons start decorating before Thanksgiving and started decorating once their daughter was born and have grown their decorations each year as she has grown. They love to decorate as they used to drive around to look at decorations when they were younger and hope to spread the same joy.
"I have always loved driving around looking at Christmas lights and decorations. It's incredible what people can achieve these days with their displays," they wrote.
The Wilsons' invite you to come and look at their display at 432 Church St. that's lit from 4:30 to 10:30 every night, though if it's really windy, the inflatables might not be up as the weather will be too harsh.
In Pittsfield, Travis and Shannon Dozier decorated their house for the first time this Christmas as they recently purchased their home on Faucett Lane. The two started decorating in November, and hope to bring joy to the community.
"If we put a smile on one child's face driving by, then our mission was accomplished," they said.
Many homeowners are showing their holiday spirit by decorating their houses. We asked for submissions so those in the community can check out these fanciful lights and decor when they're out.
click for more
"They wanted the high altitude and the depth of snow," said Lambert, when asked why the advanced training in mountain and cold weather techniques took place in the Rockies and not in northern Vermont. "If that's what the requester wants, we'll go wherever they want to go."
The request for specific winter-weather training was the first the School has received related specifically to the war in Afghanistan, but it is unlikely to be the last. The School is the Army's only training facility geared specifically toward training troops to fight in winter weather conditions, training that is gaining in relevance, according to Lieutenant Colonel Michael Bullock, Commander the Army's only battalion fully trained in military mountaineering.
"What we do is inherently dangerous, but it's not unsafe," Bullock said. "We counter dangerous situations with necessary safety precautions."
Hundreds of students attend the Mountain Warfare School every year to learn a variety of techniques and skills aimed at helping them survive and succeed in extreme weather conditions. Soldiers train in freezing conditions for 15 hours a day in an intensive two-week course aimed at giving them the necessary skills to confront everything from avalanches to frostbite.
"For a lot of us, this is the first time in this environment," said Captain Mark Purdy, 31, who serves in a Ranger battalion in rural Georgia. "Although we've been in the cold, living in it is different."
Purdy was completing his 10th day at the Army Mountain School and preparing to sleep in a canvas tent in the school's Command Post in Smuggler's Notch, where temperatures the night before had dipped to seven degrees Fahrenheit.
During the day, Purdy and other students braved snow, wind and freezing temperatures to participate in a four-mile hike up Mt. Mansfield, Vermont's highest peak at just under 4,400 feet. Along the way, students were tested in ice climbing along a 100-foot ice-coated cliff referred to by School personnel as the "mountain classroom." Higher up the mountain, students paired off to simulate an avalanche rescue along a steep drop-off known as "the chute."
After completing the avalanche rescue, Captain Gregg Langevin, 31, of Southbridge, Mass., said he enjoyed the intensive training and was gaining confidence in his abilities to function in extreme conditions.
"I'm not going to say I'm an expert, but I'm professional enough not to get myself killed," said Langevin, who is also a veteran of the Warfare School's complimentary two-week summer course.
In terms of fighting in Afghanistan, Lieutenant Colonel Bullock said one of the most important things for soldiers to guard against is the cold.
"One of the keys in Afghanistan is the elevation rise," said Bullock, who noted that the Afghan terrain ranges from 2,000 to 21,000 feet above sea level. "For every 1,000 feet, the temperature drops five degrees."
Although northern Vermont does not have comparable mountains to Afghanistan, Mountain Warfare officials like to point out that New England does feature "some of the worst weather on the face of the Earth."
The region is affected by virtually every weather front that makes its way across the country. Eighty miles east of the School, Mt. Washington in New Hampshire has withstood the highest wind velocity ever recorded, 231 miles per hour. At that point, Lambert said, the equipment measuring the wind blew away.
US forces have taken lessons from Russian difficulties in Afghanistan and are now deploying in smaller unites, improving their mobility and their ability to operate in difficult weather and terrain, according to Lambert.
"What is taking place over there is exactly what the Mountain Warfare School teaches here," Lambert said.
