Baby, it’s cold outside. But U.S. troops are still expected to use snow storms during peace as great training for snow storms during war.
So while the rest of the country starts sipping spiced coffees and hot chocolate, here are 17 photos of America’s troops braving the snow:
1. Airman 1st Class Avery Friedman plays “Taps” during training at F.S. Gabreski Air National Guard Base amid snowfall on Dec. 15.
2. Paratroopers scan for threats past purple smoke while maneuvering through the snow during a training exercise in Alaska on Nov. 8.
3. Paratroopers maneuver across the snow at the top of a hill during training in Alaska on Nov. 8.
4. Apache crew chiefs perform maintenance on an AH-64E during a snowstorm at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, on Dec. 8, 2016.
5. Maintenance sailors change the prop on an EP-3E Aries II amid driving snow at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island on Dec. 11.
6. An Airman removes snow and ice from a KC-135 Stratotanker on Dec. 12 after a snowstorm at Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington.
7. A B-52H pilot gives the thumbs up to ground crew from inside the cockpit before a training flight through the snow on Jan. 14, 2016.
8. An Air Force engineer drives a snow plow across the flightline at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, on Jan. 14, 2016.
9. A 10th Mountain Division soldier clears snow from parked Humvees at Fort Drum, New York, on Nov. 21.
10. Army paratroopers conduct a live-fire training exercise at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska on Nov. 8, 2016.
11. A Marine Corps rifleman pulls security during training at Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia, on Jan. 29, 2016.
12. A Marine Corps mortarman sits with his weapon on Oct. 22, 2016, during training at the Mountain Warfare Training Center, Bridgeport, California.
13. A Coast Guard petty officer clears snow from around a 25-foot Response Boat-Small on Jan. 24, 2016, in Sandy Hook, New Jersey.
14. Army soldiers fire a 120mm mortar during training at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, on Jan. 12, 2016.
15. Army paratroopers in Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, conduct 60mm mortar training in the snow on Jan. 12, 2016.
16. An Army mortarman moves through the snow during training at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson on Jan. 12, 2016.
17. An Air Force engineer drives a snow broom across the runway at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, on Dec. 4, 2015.
