APRIL 25, 2024 – On a frigid Valentine’s Day night, 12 Emergency Management Airmen from across the country gathered in a tent near Devil’s Lake, N.D., to prepare for the following day’s mission.
Breakfast was early, and the days were long during the Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Defense (CBRN) exercise known as Deep Freeze. Despite the plummeting temperatures, these Airmen volunteered because this unique training opportunity is not offered anywhere else.
Deep Freeze is a total force training exercise held at three primary locations between the 119th Wing Regional Training Site and Camp Grafton Training Center and Devil’s Lake in North Dakota.
Classes are offered twice per year for Airmen who volunteer to freeze in their Mission-Oriented Protective Posture (MOPP) gear to learn their equipment’s limits in extreme conditions. Now in its second year, Deep Freeze continues to provide invaluable and immersive training for the emergency management community.
“The goal is to conduct CBRN operations in austere, cold weather environments,” explains U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Jon Pieters, 133rd Civil Engineer Squadron (CES), a senior instructor for the event. “Cold environments and Arctic conditions are often overlooked and present a blind spot for emergency management operations.”
With average temperatures between 8 and 25 degrees, very little was simulated throughout the seven-day exercise, allowing students to experience CBRN events in a cold weather environment firsthand. From cold weather operations and surveillance to joint mission planning sessions to advanced CBRN operations, students were engaged from sun-up to sundown.
“We aim to develop the students’ fact-based decision-making skills in known and unknown situations, emphasizing the focus on critical thinking,” said U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Dennis Olsen, 119th CES, North Dakota Air National Guard. “Our goal is to make them better leaders and expand their equipment knowledge in cold weather environments.”
Using career field education and training documents, instructors evaluated the progress and performance of students throughout the exercise. At the end, all agreed: Deep Freeze exceeded expectations.
“This training was really helpful for the climate we may be going to, said U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Karlie Hicks, 319th CES. “I have never trained in cold weather before, and this helps us understand how our equipment will operate in cold conditions.”
Courtesy Story
133rd Airlift Wing