10th Mountain Division Alpine leaders train to go where others dare not go

FORT DRUM, New York — Officers assigned to 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (LI) took part in Leadership Professional Development during an Alpine training event hosted by the 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment “Golden Dragons” at Fort Drum, December 4-5, 2024.

The training audience, comprised of company grade officers from across 2nd Brigade, refined their tactical experience during rigorous training, which included a variety of extreme cold-weather training events benefiting not only themselves, but the Soldiers they’ll eventually train in such dangerous weather conditions.

“Our commander wanted us to better understand what it is our Soldiers have to go through. We can better communicate and understand how to employ training for our Soldiers in the future,” said 2nd. Lt. Alexandra Rakov, battalion medical officer, 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment. “We as leaders have an understanding of what we have to do out here and we’re able to tailor the training and preparation so that our Soldiers have the most success when they come out here.”

The participants executed an array of tasks and drills tailored to extreme cold weather including military operations in urban terrain; engagement area development; Arctic tent and stove set-up; offensive and defensive operations; cold-weather survivability training; medical training for large-scale combat operations; air assault operations; marksmanship training; and mastering the use of their snowshoes, tents, and Ahkio sleds.

Developing junior leaders in extreme conditions across a variety of tasks over the course of two days requires extensive planning — especially when safety is a concern.

“Preparations for an event like this are extremely thorough [especially pre-combat checks and inspections],” said Capt. Niccolo Iacovelli, Alpha Company commander, 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment. “Leaders and their subordinates check themselves and then check each other to ensure they have the right equipment. When we’re training in the cold weather that we have in the North Country, the lack of equipment is not something that’s an inconvenience or nuisance, it’s a life-or-death matter as the temperatures drop below freezing.

Training and preparing leaders across the formation — from junior to senior — is a vital step to ensuring the 10th Mountain Division is ready for its next climb to glory when it may be asked to go where others dare not go.