On a frosty morning, a convoy of military vehicles arrives at the training site - the shore of a large lake. The winter cyclone, which brought snow and twenty-degree frost to Ukraine, is felt here in full. The reservoir is covered with a thick layer of ice, and open areas of the body freeze only when you go out into the fresh air. And although the support team prepared the ice holes for training in advance, because of the frost they quickly become covered with ice - you always have to punch it with sticks.
The training of soldiers coincided with a great Christian holiday - the Epiphany, which is popularly called Baptism. Therefore, next to the fighters - and the chaplain of the military unit, at the very beginning of the training events, he blesses his wards and blesses the water.
Briefing is the primary part of the exercise. The servicemen are explained what situations can happen on the frozen water bodies and how to act in order to save themselves, brothers and fulfill the assigned task.
Operators practice the exercises alone, in twos and threes. One of the points is to be able to independently get out of the ice hole. By the way, the warrior must do this with a full set of field equipment.
The next step is to prevent hypothermia in a person who has just been in ice water. Here the warriors use the method of warming a thermal blanket in a circle.
Another stage of training is providing first aid to the victim in the field. The SOF warriors are working on a situation when an injured person cannot breathe with signs of spasms of the body's reaction.
Each such exercise hones the algorithms for actions in various situations that may occur during the execution of a combat mission. Fighters overcome stress in conditions that suddenly change and experience the effects of ice water. In particular, one of the tasks was to dive under several ice areas and not miss in an attempt to emerge to the surface.
At a time when the harsh cold weather brought only discomfort to many Ukrainians, the Ukrainian SOF units used the weather changes to their advantage: they worked on honing their skills for safe handling on ice. And once again they proved their readiness to perform tasks as intended under any conditions.
Source: http://sof.mil.gov.ua/news/203-voyini-sso-vidpracyuvali-diyi-v-umovah-nizkih-temperatur?fbclid=IwAR0uDOVGeK2Z2-Lkx063wQSfo09ZnPULz45Z7MpCMJpKHt7v
Author: sof.mil.gov.ua
