On the Ice with Marines Preparing for War in the Arctic

Fire Watch

We’re in a Norwegian valley, high above the Arctic Circle. It’s late afternoon in early March and a group of over a dozen infantry Marines are standing around an American and Norwegian chaplain. It’s windy, cold. The Marines hold laminated prayer cards in dense gloves, some are shifting back and forth to stay warm. A radio chatters in the background with reports from the front.

“That symbol – that cross – came to signify that Rome could force people to obey out of fear, obedience out of fear of being raised upon that cross,” a Marine chaplain said. “And Christ says, I will destroy the fear of death and dying. I myself will be raised upon that cross in order to evoke life and hope.”

Article Five of the NATO agreement – if one is attacked, all are attacked – is a provision that binds these NATO countries together. The last – and only – time it has been invoked was in the aftermath of 9/11 when “NATO rallied in support of the USA,” according to Vice Adm. Doug Perry, commander of Joint Force Command - Decades later, he said the alliance was now more relevant than ever because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

We spent time with the Marines miles above the Arctic Circle in Norway as part of the largest NATO exercise in the region since 1988. We spoke to Norwegians, Swedes and Finns as well – all nations that contributed to America’s fight in Afghanistan, all nations that lost troops to it, too. Now, those countries are on the brink of an uncertain future.

In this episode: Norwegian Chaplain, LT Kathleen Laboa, MONTAGE, Drew F. Lawrence, American Chaplain, Former President Donald Trump, Ville, Vice Adm. Doug Perry, HM2 Zachery Matthews, Marine Sergeant