Cold-weather ops training includes mastering shelter building at Fort McCoy

During nearly two weeks of training in each session of the Cold-Weather Operations Course (CWOC) at Fort McCoy, students learn many skills. Among the most important of those skills is being able to create shelter in a cold-weather environment.

CWOC students learn about two different types of shelters in the course - the Arctic 10-person tent and the improvised shelter.

"We had eight Arctic tents signed out, which students and instructors use for training," said Instructor Bill Hamilton. "During each class, we'll also give a three-hour platform class about the tent and the heater that goes into it and then the students will go out and practice building the tent throughout other parts of the course. Overall, I'd say students get about 12-16 hours of training with tents."

Students also spend several nights bivouacking in the tents at designated wooded areas throughout the installation. "This provides a greater understanding on how to build and use these tents for shelters," Hamilton said.

While out bivouacking, CWOC students also spend nights in an improvised shelter they have to build.

"They build debris shelters out of whatever is available in the woods," Hamilton said. "This can include fallen logs, sticks, leaves, and tree branches. It's interesting to see how the students find ways to build these shelters and the designs they come up with."

Sgt. Jacob Back with the 339th Psychological Operations Battalion of Arden Hills, Minn., was a student in CWOC Class 18-02. He said he appreciated what he learned about shelter building as well as other cold-weather survival skills.

"Actually being able to get out in the field to perform these tasks gave me a lot more knowledge about the things you can easily forget about when having to survive in a cold-weather environment," Back said. "Those things (like shelter building) have a large impact on staying warm."

Cpl. Joshua Cameroni, a student with CWOC Class 18-01 from Marine Wing Support Squadron 271 at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C., said the field training with shelters was informative.

"The survival portion was one of my favorite parts of the course as well as learning to build the (improvised) shelters," Cameroni said. "This course helped my skills and sharpened my ability to think outside the box and learn there are multiple ways to complete a task."

Hamilton said that after the students successfully set up and stay overnight in the tents or the shelters they built, they have a sense of confidence.

Spec. Brady Heiner, also from the 339th and a Class 18-02 student, said the training made him a better-prepared Soldier.

"This gave me the confidence to know that I can do it - I can survive in a cold-weather environment," Heiner said.

More than 200 service members have completed the shelter-building training presented in the course during the winter of 2017-2018, Hamilton said. "That's a couple hundred people who can take these skills back to their units and help train their fellow (service members) in these same skills," he said.

The CWOC is modeled on the Cold-Weather Leader Course taught by the Army Northern Warfare Training Center at Black Rapids, Alaska. The CWOC program of instruction is nearly identical with the exception that certain skills, such as mountaineering and related topics that are better served in mountainous areas, are not taught.

In addition to learning shelter-construction skills, CWOC students learn skills in skiing and snowshoe training as well as how to use ahkio sleds, said Instructor Joe Ernst. Training also focuses on terrain and weather analysis, risk management, cold-weather clothing, developing winter fighting positions in the field, camouflage and concealment, and numerous other areas that are important to know in order to survive and operate in a cold-weather environment.

Fort McCoy has supported America's armed forces since 1909. The installation's motto is to be the "Total Force Training Center." The post's varied terrain, state-of-the-art ranges, new as well as renovated facilities, and extensive support infrastructure combine to provide military personnel with an environment in which to develop and sustain the skills necessary for mission success.

Learn more about Fort McCoy online at www.mccoy.army.mil, on Facebook by searching "ftmccoy," and on Twitter by searching "usagmccoy."