0:00:07 > 0:00:10Bloodshed on the streets of Ukraine
0:00:10 > 0:00:13on the deadliest day yet of anti-government protests.
0:00:13 > 0:00:17In response to Russia's actions in Ukraine earlier this year...
0:00:17 > 0:00:21David Cameron is expected to support President Obama's warning to Russia.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24We have to be ready to deal with that kind of aggression
0:00:24 > 0:00:27and make sure that Russian knows that, if it crosses the line,
0:00:27 > 0:00:30if you like, then we are ready to respond.
0:00:30 > 0:00:33We are now continuously rotating additional personnel and aircraft
0:00:33 > 0:00:35through the Baltics.
0:00:36 > 0:00:38This is probably the most challenging one.
0:00:38 > 0:00:42I've never been in this kind of cold-weather environment.
0:00:42 > 0:00:46Being fatigued and cold and tired and hungry, it takes its toll.
0:00:46 > 0:00:48One of the reasons why we're in Eastern Europe
0:00:48 > 0:00:51is to support our partners and deter Russian aggression.
0:00:51 > 0:00:53We're here doing the same thing.
0:00:53 > 0:00:57I am sure that, unless we're robust and unless we show resolve,
0:00:57 > 0:00:59that this could become dangerous.
0:01:11 > 0:01:16The Royal Marines are the only cold-weather mountain specialists
0:01:16 > 0:01:17in the UK military.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20It's obviously a fairly brutal environment,
0:01:20 > 0:01:21temperatures down to -19.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26The US Marine Corps are terribly gung ho. You see the pictures
0:01:26 > 0:01:30of them all running along, shouting, ho-ho-ho, all this sort of thing.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33I'm somewhat concerned that their focus has been typically
0:01:33 > 0:01:35special forces type units,
0:01:35 > 0:01:38and bringing a straight infantry battalion
0:01:38 > 0:01:40certainly creates a challenge for them.
0:01:44 > 0:01:49I'm 23 years old. I've been in the Marines for three years.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52You know, people have their motives to join the Marines,
0:01:52 > 0:01:54they want to serve their country, they're patriotic,
0:01:54 > 0:01:57they want to get to travel around the world.
0:01:57 > 0:02:01I did it purely because my brother is in the Marine Corps,
0:02:01 > 0:02:03and watching him graduate boot camp
0:02:03 > 0:02:06was honestly the sole reason why I joined the Marine Corps.
0:02:06 > 0:02:08I was working two jobs, actually.
0:02:08 > 0:02:10I was working in a fast-food restaurant and in a factory.
0:02:10 > 0:02:13I was working in the restaurant part-time, factory full-time
0:02:13 > 0:02:16and it was just getting really stressful and tiring,
0:02:16 > 0:02:18so I wanted to try something new
0:02:18 > 0:02:21and something I figured would really help me financially.
0:02:21 > 0:02:23The reason you're here today is to do a safety drill.
0:02:23 > 0:02:25This safety drill is proven,
0:02:25 > 0:02:28it's been used hundreds of times in this environment over the years.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31I was married. The reason I joined was because of my wife
0:02:31 > 0:02:34and just somewhere along the line, it ended,
0:02:34 > 0:02:38so now I'm just out here doing this and having a good time with it.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41Icebreaking basically entails
0:02:41 > 0:02:45and man on skis with his pack entering the ice.
0:02:48 > 0:02:50It's important because, moving around frozen terrain,
0:02:50 > 0:02:52we don't always know the consistency of the ice.
0:02:52 > 0:02:54Go. Get in!
0:02:56 > 0:03:00I am Corporal Mark Glass from Kentucky.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03It's a whole lot colder here and a whole lot more snow.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14Compose yourself.
0:03:16 > 0:03:18- No, no, not yet, the ski poles in.- Oh.
0:03:20 > 0:03:21It was really cold.
0:03:21 > 0:03:23A shock, it's hard to talk and hard to breathe
0:03:23 > 0:03:25while you're inside the water.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28OK, out you come, good. Drive and kick, drive and kick.
0:03:28 > 0:03:32Initially, when they go in, the skin receptors on the body
0:03:32 > 0:03:34are aware of this sudden change in temperature.
0:03:34 > 0:03:36And that would kick in this involuntary response,
0:03:36 > 0:03:38so you get the...huh! Huh!
0:03:38 > 0:03:41And that's generally lasts for about three seconds.
0:03:41 > 0:03:43The body then starts hyperventilating,
0:03:43 > 0:03:46starts breathing quickly, and that can last for up to three minutes.
0:03:46 > 0:03:48Calm down.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51I was really nervous. I didn't know what to expect,
0:03:51 > 0:03:54I was afraid I was going to get in there and not be able to get out.
0:03:54 > 0:03:57But it was great, I loved it.
0:03:57 > 0:03:59Make a toast, down in one.
0:03:59 > 0:04:01United States Marine Corps.
0:04:03 > 0:04:04- Thank you.- Follow me.
0:04:14 > 0:04:16We've rode in on the BBs
0:04:16 > 0:04:19and right now we are building our snow shelters
0:04:19 > 0:04:21where we will stay the night.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24We're piling up a bunch of snow and compacting it down.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27And after it settles, we will dig into it
0:04:27 > 0:04:29and that will be our shelter for the night.
0:04:29 > 0:04:32So, pack it into the middle, so it can be stomped down.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36It's actually a long, long, tedious, exhausting project
0:04:36 > 0:04:39that probably takes about six to eight hours,
0:04:39 > 0:04:41from what the instructor said.
0:04:41 > 0:04:45Some say it isn't as comfortable as a night in a tent,
0:04:45 > 0:04:48however, if you've got a candle going and there's no airflow,
0:04:48 > 0:04:52ie, you've dug your sleeping bays higher than the entrance trench,
0:04:52 > 0:04:53then all the cold air drops
0:04:53 > 0:04:57and it will be a comfortable zero degrees in that shelter.
0:05:06 > 0:05:08It's been a long day, we've been piling up all the snow
0:05:08 > 0:05:10and making sure it compacts right.
0:05:10 > 0:05:12Now we're just tunnelling in.
0:05:12 > 0:05:17We started digging around 9.45 and we didn't stop digging
0:05:17 > 0:05:20until at least 17.00 hours.
0:05:20 > 0:05:24So that's practically like eight hours of just piling the snow in.
0:05:29 > 0:05:31Yeah, it's not...
0:05:32 > 0:05:35It's not awesome, it's not good. But stuff happens.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38We called for help and the whole company came
0:05:38 > 0:05:41- in, like, ten seconds. - We got everyone out.
0:05:41 > 0:05:42Right.
0:05:44 > 0:05:46Essentially, they've got to put in
0:05:46 > 0:05:48bits of brushwood all over the shelter.
0:05:48 > 0:05:52That then maintains the stability of the roof.
0:05:52 > 0:05:56If they fail to do that, so once they've been digging in,
0:05:56 > 0:05:58they've dug beyond the limits
0:05:58 > 0:06:01and the roof of the shelter's collapsed in on top of them.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04Unfortunately, now we've had to move them
0:06:04 > 0:06:07onto the snow bank over yonder and they'll dig another shelter.
0:06:11 > 0:06:15Yeah, this is probably the most different thing
0:06:15 > 0:06:17that I've done in the Marine Corps.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20I'd say we would be ready for anything that comes our way,
0:06:20 > 0:06:25to be honest, just like that's how we as Marines are, just ready.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28Respond and serve, without a question.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34I think everyone who comes out here finds it tough.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37The reason the Royal Marines come here, if we can operate here,
0:06:37 > 0:06:41we can operate anywhere around the world or anywhere around the globe.
0:06:41 > 0:06:42So this is a testing ground.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45You couldn't get any tougher and more demanding.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48So these guys have stepped straight off a plane from the US,
0:06:48 > 0:06:51come to Europe, and then a week later, they are 300 miles
0:06:51 > 0:06:55inside the Arctic Circle, fighting against these conditions.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00Fighting in that weather is really, really difficult.
0:07:00 > 0:07:04Just surviving is really difficult. To survive is half...
0:07:04 > 0:07:07Well, it's more than half, it's 90% of it. 95% of it.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10If you survive and can also fire something
0:07:10 > 0:07:12and your equipment works, you're there.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15The training that our Armed Forces can provide is something
0:07:15 > 0:07:18other armies around the world really,
0:07:18 > 0:07:21really want and we have some of the most specialist
0:07:21 > 0:07:26and most admired training of any army around the world.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29It's obviously a fairly brutal environment,
0:07:29 > 0:07:30so as you'd expect,
0:07:30 > 0:07:34the spectrum of cold-weather injuries, you have hypothermia
0:07:34 > 0:07:36where the whole body is cold,
0:07:36 > 0:07:39and becomes cold and then generally begins to shut down.
0:07:39 > 0:07:43Sort of frost nip is a little bit of a warning sign, where,
0:07:43 > 0:07:47yes, people have cold hands, cold feet, noses or ears.
0:07:47 > 0:07:51Obviously a progression from that is the tissue actually starts freezing.
0:07:51 > 0:07:55Then, that's frostbite and that is a significant problem
0:07:55 > 0:07:57and risk out here.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00Different degrees of frostbite, from superficial to deep,
0:08:00 > 0:08:04depending on the layers of tissue that have actually frozen.
0:08:06 > 0:08:07Glass.
0:08:07 > 0:08:09Last night was really cold.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12It's supposed to be a shelter to keep us safe and warm,
0:08:12 > 0:08:14but it was still rather cold.
0:08:14 > 0:08:18I mean, we worked for long hours yesterday
0:08:18 > 0:08:20up until about midnight last night.
0:08:20 > 0:08:25Our clothes are still kind of wet and cold and some parts are frozen.
0:08:25 > 0:08:29I'm cold, I was hungry and we are fixing breakfast right now.
0:08:29 > 0:08:34So it's been a really rough time these last two days.
0:08:34 > 0:08:38It takes its toll. You've just got to suck it up and go on.
0:08:40 > 0:08:42Guys, get your jackets on, if it's not already on.
0:08:42 > 0:08:44Have your flasks out.
0:08:45 > 0:08:47How was the night in the quinzhee on the whole?
0:08:47 > 0:08:49MEN SHOUT Good.
0:08:49 > 0:08:53Did it work, did it serve a purpose as a survival shelter?
0:08:53 > 0:08:55OK, good, you're alive today, that's good.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58The movement we're going to introduce initially will start off
0:08:58 > 0:09:02with movement by snowshoes and then, a little bit later on,
0:09:02 > 0:09:04we'll slowly, but surely, develop
0:09:04 > 0:09:06utilising movements by skis, which will prove
0:09:06 > 0:09:08quite an arduous task.
0:09:09 > 0:09:13It's a little awkward at times, I'm not used to these positions
0:09:13 > 0:09:16and wearing the skis. I need to get some better gloves
0:09:16 > 0:09:19because I can't really shoot with these mitts on.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22Gloves, the skis makes it more difficult.
0:09:22 > 0:09:26There's more to work around to get the weapon and stuff like that.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29But, a little practice, we'll get good at it.
0:09:33 > 0:09:38It's not different than what I'm used to, being on, you know,
0:09:38 > 0:09:43much more solid ground. Handling the weapon and having to...
0:09:44 > 0:09:46..break through the...
0:09:48 > 0:09:51..the undisturbed snow
0:09:51 > 0:09:54just makes it a lot more... a lot more of a work-out
0:09:54 > 0:09:57and a lot more tiring. So, but...
0:09:57 > 0:10:03it's getting there, techniques are getting slowly perfected.
0:10:05 > 0:10:08It's an arduous environment, where not only are we combating
0:10:08 > 0:10:12the actual skill sets involved with maintaining our body temperature
0:10:12 > 0:10:15in the cold, but also with the more pertinent point
0:10:15 > 0:10:17of closing with, and defeating, the enemy.
0:10:17 > 0:10:19- I'm so- BLEEP - if we go to war with Russia.
0:10:21 > 0:10:23- I can't figure how to move this- BLEEP.
0:10:29 > 0:10:33In the last ten or so years, we've been focused elsewhere in the world.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39And our cold-weather expertise hasn't been what it should be.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42- Keep going.- I know, I can't see.
0:10:42 > 0:10:44Us coming here and learning from
0:10:44 > 0:10:47the best cold-weather trainers in the world
0:10:47 > 0:10:50is a fantastic opportunity.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58All that skewering is, is utilising a long length of rope,
0:10:58 > 0:11:00a small hitch over the ski poles.
0:11:00 > 0:11:04It just means that we can almost double the amount of personnel
0:11:04 > 0:11:08we can move around an area, in order to close with the enemy.
0:11:14 > 0:11:17The biggest energy expulsion during this activity
0:11:17 > 0:11:19is going to be the constant falling over
0:11:19 > 0:11:22and then trying to stand up with kit on your back.
0:11:46 > 0:11:49- Staying alive, staying alive. - I blame the driver on that one!
0:11:49 > 0:11:53The last bit of the exercise we're conducting is basically
0:11:53 > 0:11:55the withdrawal, or the extraction.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58Now, ultimately, this is probably the most testing part of the week,
0:11:58 > 0:12:01due to the fact of the degradation the guys have received
0:12:01 > 0:12:04from spending the two nights previous under canvas
0:12:04 > 0:12:07and again, the survival shelter on the final day.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12We've made it a long way, we've done a lot of hard work
0:12:12 > 0:12:15and the Royal Marines have given us a lot of help,
0:12:15 > 0:12:20as far as being able to survive out in this climate.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23It's a really...harsh climate,
0:12:23 > 0:12:27but I think with a little more practice, we can do it.
0:12:30 > 0:12:32It's taken a while to grasp the urgency,
0:12:32 > 0:12:35and it's that standing, waiting for an order and understanding
0:12:35 > 0:12:38that you need to move away from that and start acting for yourself.
0:12:38 > 0:12:40This is the best office in the world as far as I'm concerned
0:12:40 > 0:12:44and I think the Americans are slowly starting to appreciate that as well.
0:12:44 > 0:12:48Culturally, yes, there are differences, but we're Marines.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51UK Marines, US Marines - we're Marines.
0:12:51 > 0:12:53And there's a brotherhood
0:12:53 > 0:12:56that transcends political boundaries and governments.
0:12:56 > 0:12:58If you come across people who are highly trained and able
0:12:58 > 0:13:02to live in that environment, it is extremely difficult to fight them.
0:13:02 > 0:13:06And so the Russians will take this quite seriously.
0:13:06 > 0:13:08They watch very carefully what we're doing,
0:13:08 > 0:13:11and we're watching what they're doing. And we need to do that.
0:13:11 > 0:13:16Exhausted. Skiing is the most demanding thing I've ever done.
0:13:16 > 0:13:18I'm glad to be back on base
0:13:18 > 0:13:21and a nice, warm bed to sleep in tonight.