US captain describes Finland’s Cold Response exercise as “the coldest I’ve ever experienced”

A US Air Force captain taking part in NATO’s Cold Response 26 military exercise in Finland described the Arctic conditions as the harshest she has ever faced, Finnish broadcaster Yle reports.

Captain Maggie Carpenter, serving as a loadmaster on a C-130 Hercules aerial refuelling aircraft, arrived in Rovaniemi for the first time as part of the large-scale drill. “This is absolutely the coldest I’ve ever been exposed to,” she said. “Back home in the US, I rarely encounter freezing conditions or snow-covered runways like this.”

The exercise, involving over 30,000 troops from multiple NATO allies, tests coordinated crisis response in Arctic conditions. For US forces, it provides critical experience in northern winter operations. Captain David Leesman of the US Marine Corps’ VMGR-252 squadron noted that even the journey to Finland presented real-world challenges. “We faced issues securing refuelling support en route—exactly the kind of scenario we need to practice for future conflicts,” he said.

Finland’s Air Force contributed eight F/A-18 Hornet fighters and 150 personnel to the drill, which also includes troops from Sweden, the US, France, Italy, and the UK. Colonel Saku Joukas, commander of Lapland Air Command, emphasised the importance of maintaining refuelling proficiency. “All our Hornet pilots are certified for aerial refuelling. In a crisis, there’s no time to build these skills from scratch,” he said.

Cold Response 26 concludes on March 20, with participants training in Finland, Norway, and Sweden.