Master Sgt. Garett Murley, the full-time flight chief with the 181st Intelligence Wing Security Forces Squadron, and Staff Sgt. Adrain Storm, the Combat Arms Training and Maintenance Program Manager, attended the Air National Guard’s Cold Weather Operations Course alongside 68 other Air National Guardsmen at Camp Ripley, Minnesota from Jan. 27 to Feb. 8, 2025.
The CWOC focuses on operational training and survival in extreme cold weather conditions to further support their ability to serve our country anytime, anywhere.
Throughout the course, they rucked approximately 35 miles wearing 75-lb ruck packs and pulled a 300-lb ahkio sled that held their supplies used to build shelters for survival. On the last day of the course, the United States Coast Guard’s Training and Rescue Station from Duluth, Minnesota supervised the final exercise where all participants immersed into a freezing lake for two minutes in order to experience stage one hypothermia. Once the two minutes were complete, the Airmen dragged themselves out of the lake and were transported to a safe location nearby where their peers utilized their thermal rescue techniques to assist the freezing member.
Murley and Storm said they benefited greatly from the CWOC and spoke highly of their experiences during their time at Camp Ripley.
“I would like to thank my leadership for allowing me to experience this training and sending me to test my grit,” said Storm. “I would also thank the hosting units and all the cadre who volunteered their time and experience.”
Murley encourages more Airmen to attend the course if they are presented with the opportunity.
“I highly recommend CWOC for anyone preparing for cold-weather operations. It will test you, break you down, and build you back up into a more resilient and capable warfighter. If you’re heading into this training, my advice is simple: stay mentally tough, trust your team, and keep moving forward.”
The 181st Intelligence Wing is committed to training our Airmen to be prepared and mission proficient, including the mental and physical training required to persevere through the challenges of extreme environments.
