AKIPRESS.COM - A five-man team from the Alaska Army National Guard’s 1-297th Reconnaissance and Surveillance Squadron has returned from Mongolia after a cold weather subject-matter-expert exchange with the Mongolian Armed Forces last month, said DVIDS.

The purpose of the exercise was to support the Alaska National Guard’s state partnership with Mongolia, giving soldiers the opportunity to learn about cold weather and mountain tactics, techniques and procedures. The four-day exchange was conducted at the Five Hills Training Area near Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Training events included equipment briefs, cold weather injury classes, field demonstrations of the effects of cold weather on equipment and operations, avalanche safety and skiing. The culminating exercise was a climb of a local peak, in which soldiers had the opportunity to use techniques learned during the subject matter expert exchange.

This event is the first cold weather subject-matter-expert trip to Mongolia, but the Alaska Army National Guard hopes there will be many more in the future to support the security cooperation objectives of U.S. Pacific Command.