00:0075 miles north of the Arctic Circle, in a snow-covered forest, the Finnish Army is training
00:04NATO soldiers to fight in some of the toughest conditions. I recently traveled to northern
00:09Finland to see how it's done. Arctic defense has become a key area of focus for NATO,
00:14as Western officials grow increasingly concerned with Russian and Chinese activity in the region.
00:19Finland has long been an expert in winter combat, and the country's Jaeger Brigade
00:24leads an annual Arctic warfare training and survival course for NATO soldiers.
00:28This year, roughly 20 soldiers participated in the Muff-Long course. The soldiers, who come from
00:33countries such as the U.S., U.K., and France, learn cold weather survival skills and how to move in
00:39deep snow. They also train for ski and snowmobile assaults. I watched the NATO soldiers participate
00:45in a combat exercise against a larger group of Finnish conscripts. The NATO platoon traversed the
00:50forest on snowmobiles before dismounting and attacking the conscript force on skis. Their
00:55guns were loaded with blanks and equipped with a laser attachment. When they pulled the trigger,
01:00the firearms made a sound like a gunshot, but instead of a bullet, they fired a laser that would
01:06set off sensors on an enemy's body armor. Some hits might wound, while others might kill. The training
01:11exercise played out like a high-stakes laser tag, but it was designed to give soldiers a dynamic feel
01:17for winter combat.
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