This is exersice "Avalanche express" march, 1984. I was there. The Norwegians in this film is from bravo company, first batallion, the North brigade. Most Norwegians are conscripts. A few are former sargents recalled for training. I recognice several Norwegian soldiers in this film. This is All made for the American public. Norwegian soldiers would never attack in broad daylight on skis. This is allmost 40 years ago. Thanks for uploading. Brings memories back.
@@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker David; this is and extreme good documentary from the last Days of the cold war. Another Cold war is building up. Now. I will reccomend you to contact NRK, the state owned Norwegian broadcasting company, and try to sell your documentary. I think it has potential to capture the heart of the Norwegian Soldier and the Norwegian Common citicen. Please Google NRK and tale contact. I am a Norwegian. I was there. Tak you so much!
I was in the Norwegian army in '97-'98 and spent time above the Arctic circle - I definitely recognize the landscape. We took part in a big exercise with Brits, Americans, and Germans, among others. Its a tough climate and environment to fight in for native troops, and must be a very steep learning curve for guys coming in from the States, many of whom have never tried skis before. I remember some good-natured snickering about these big tough Marines who were very tentatively learning to ski. But I also recall the guys who had a great experience meeting up with Americans - they got along very well. These Norwegians are older than conscripts, they might be former conscripts on a training exercise, or more likely are part of a dedicated Home Guard reservist type unit who train more regularly. By the late '90s we had very different gear, but our basic weapons were the same - AG-3 rifles, MG3 machine guns and Carl Gustav recoilless rifles.
@@niklas2378 Reall? I don't suppose if you remember, did your unit happen to host a platoon from Stormesk 3 some time in the spring or early summer of '98? We went to check out a Air Force unit that had BVs and RB-70 one day. I also know someone who was serving with AA bofors cannons at the time (the son of a famous Norwegian politican - I don't suppose that sounds familiar by any chance?). "Det er ikke kaldt, det er bare annerledes..."
This is from NATO exersice "Avalanche express" 1983, march. 20000 men. The Norwegian are mostly conscripts and some former sargents called in for re training. I was there and recognice several of the conscripts. Bravo company, first batallion.
@@magnuslauglo5356 hi, i think you may have been in bardu. we didnt have anyone from stormesk visiting us as far as i remember. only german units visited us and we gave them a lesson in vehicle camo;-) actually my unit were so skilled in camo that we got featured in some magazine (dont remember which)
@@niklas2378 Ah, Bardu, that sounds about right. Interesting to hear about your unit's expertise in camouflaguing vehicles. I read only yesterday that vehicle camo is primarily designed to prevent being detected (or at least precisely identified) from the air.
This movie was probably made before 1988. I participated inTeamwork'88 in Tromso, Norway and it was the first time we were issued lightweight Gortex winter gear, a welcome change as the winter clothing depicted in this documentary was made of cotton and wool; heavy and hard to dry. Thank you very much for posting. Semper fi, Devil Dogs! Uraaaah!
I did that op in 82 & again in 84 near Narvik/Setermoen 200 miles above the arctic circle. Same gear, clothing etc, it was a cold mutha scooter. That was 1984. The narrator said that 3/8 was heading to Beirut after that & were to be some of the last Marines in Lebanon. POTUS Reagan pulled all USMC out of Beirut in Feb 84.
I was in Alpha Co. 1st Bn 2nd Marines in the early 90's and they showed us this video prior to our deployment to cold weather training in early 1994. We did the standard cold weather package at Bridgeport, then a few days libo in either Reno or Lake Tahoe, then another cold weather package with the Army at Ft. Wainright, Alaska. Our Company Gunny was one of the Marines in this documentary (I believe he was a Corporal or something at the time it was made) and they didn't really tell us until we were watching the video and figured it out. Friggin' Hollywood. Ha. I forget his name though but remember he was with us in '94. Semper Fi. Edit to add; it was Murphy who is a Ssgt in this video... He was at least a Gunny or 1st Sgt with us. Can't exactly remember now. Served with so many at the time.
thank you for saying what you have said, Anthony. Murphy was and is a terrific man. I love that they use my film as they did. I didn't know it. David often-filmmaker
Great documentary, David. Just as important today as 40 years ago when you made it. Or maybe even more important. Stay cool! Good luck with the upcoming elections in the USA! Respect from Norway! Again!
These norwegians are probably on what we call a rep-øvelse (repetition exersise) they did their national service (12 months) a couple a years ago, and they are called back for exersise a couple of weeks every ca 5 years until they are 42 years old. That was the standard way of doing it since national service was 18 months but the army only took 12 months of your time the first time.
Pretty interesting for their gear. It appears they were using the M65 Fishtail Parka with the Fishtail Parka Snow camo over-garments. For boots they are wearing what is nicknamed "Bunny Boots" or "Mickey Mouse Boots". For Load Bearing Equipment (LBE), they're using the LC2 Web Belt System which uses ALICE attachments. Also, Kinda weird to see that a few of the troops are using the LC1 belt. I was going to question why are they using the M16A1 when the M16A2 was made and put into service around 1982, but I forgot that the Marines gets the Army's hand-me-downs.
14:00 "With all the layers of clothes we wear, we start sweating very easily" . Hehe, that´s why you don´t wear a lot of clothes if you´re moving through heavy snow, being active keeps you warm, also you want to wear wool underneath, because wool will keep you warm, even though you´re wet. Basic stuff! ;)
They use alot of cotton here. Current issue gear has really advanced in this regard. Not just to avoid medical problems but for ease of maintenance (drying, cleaning etc) Although this mainly means more synthetic fibres of course. Not so eco friendly i suppose. Win some, lose some.
I participated in a NATO exercise when I was in the Norwegian cavalry, it was around Tromsø & Narvik. Met some US Marines amongst others. This was in 2008. Their winter gear sucked (they wanted to trade stuff with me. As you can imagine, I refused 🤣. Also, it´s owned by the govt, so I couldn´t have traded anything even if I wanted to) . It was a pleasure beating their asses, hehehe.
Wrong, the snow is not as white as the camouflage, we we got ours in the Norwegian military we were encouraged to make it dirty. Its also kinda a sign of somebody that knows what they are doing if they have a really dirty white camoflague, means they have been a lot in the field
This is exersice "Avalanche express" march, 1984. I was there. The Norwegians in this film is from bravo company, first batallion, the North brigade. Most Norwegians are conscripts. A few are former sargents recalled for training. I recognice several Norwegian soldiers in this film. This is All made for the American public. Norwegian soldiers would never attack in broad daylight on skis. This is allmost 40 years ago. Thanks for uploading. Brings memories back.
Thank you so much for your comment. I have long ago lost this information.
David Hoffman filmmaker
@@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker David; this is and extreme good documentary from the last Days of the cold war. Another Cold war is building up. Now. I will reccomend you to contact NRK, the state owned Norwegian broadcasting company, and try to sell your documentary. I think it has potential to capture the heart of the Norwegian Soldier and the Norwegian Common citicen. Please Google NRK and tale contact. I am a Norwegian. I was there. Tak you so much!
I was in the Norwegian army in '97-'98 and spent time above the Arctic circle - I definitely recognize the landscape. We took part in a big exercise with Brits, Americans, and Germans, among others. Its a tough climate and environment to fight in for native troops, and must be a very steep learning curve for guys coming in from the States, many of whom have never tried skis before. I remember some good-natured snickering about these big tough Marines who were very tentatively learning to ski. But I also recall the guys who had a great experience meeting up with Americans - they got along very well.
These Norwegians are older than conscripts, they might be former conscripts on a training exercise, or more likely are part of a dedicated Home Guard reservist type unit who train more regularly. By the late '90s we had very different gear, but our basic weapons were the same - AG-3 rifles, MG3 machine guns and Carl Gustav recoilless rifles.
i served during 97-98 too. i was a corporal in a rb-70 unit (luftvernjeger) defending bodø
@@niklas2378 Reall? I don't suppose if you remember, did your unit happen to host a platoon from Stormesk 3 some time in the spring or early summer of '98? We went to check out a Air Force unit that had BVs and RB-70 one day. I also know someone who was serving with AA bofors cannons at the time (the son of a famous Norwegian politican - I don't suppose that sounds familiar by any chance?).
"Det er ikke kaldt, det er bare annerledes..."
This is from NATO exersice "Avalanche express" 1983, march. 20000 men. The Norwegian are mostly conscripts and some former sargents called in for re training. I was there and recognice several of the conscripts. Bravo company, first batallion.
@@magnuslauglo5356 hi, i think you may have been in bardu. we didnt have anyone from stormesk visiting us as far as i remember. only german units visited us and we gave them a lesson in vehicle camo;-) actually my unit were so skilled in camo that we got featured in some magazine (dont remember which)
@@niklas2378 Ah, Bardu, that sounds about right. Interesting to hear about your unit's expertise in camouflaguing vehicles. I read only yesterday that vehicle camo is primarily designed to prevent being detected (or at least precisely identified) from the air.
This movie was probably made before 1988. I participated inTeamwork'88 in Tromso, Norway and it was the first time we were issued lightweight Gortex winter gear, a welcome change as the winter clothing depicted in this documentary was made of cotton and wool; heavy and hard to dry. Thank you very much for posting. Semper fi, Devil Dogs! Uraaaah!
I did that op in 82 & again in 84 near Narvik/Setermoen 200 miles above the arctic circle. Same gear, clothing etc, it was a cold mutha scooter. That was 1984. The narrator said that 3/8 was heading to Beirut after that & were to be some of the last Marines in Lebanon. POTUS Reagan pulled all USMC out of Beirut in Feb 84.
I think its 1984.
@@TheZombieman87 If you watch the video till the end it says 1985
Typo...it was 83...I was there
Way before 88
I was in Alpha Co. 1st Bn 2nd Marines in the early 90's and they showed us this video prior to our deployment to cold weather training in early 1994. We did the standard cold weather package at Bridgeport, then a few days libo in either Reno or Lake Tahoe, then another cold weather package with the Army at Ft. Wainright, Alaska. Our Company Gunny was one of the Marines in this documentary (I believe he was a Corporal or something at the time it was made) and they didn't really tell us until we were watching the video and figured it out. Friggin' Hollywood. Ha. I forget his name though but remember he was with us in '94. Semper Fi.
Edit to add; it was Murphy who is a Ssgt in this video... He was at least a Gunny or 1st Sgt with us. Can't exactly remember now. Served with so many at the time.
thank you for saying what you have said, Anthony. Murphy was and is a terrific man. I love that they use my film as they did. I didn't know it.
David often-filmmaker
My name is also Murphy, cpl John Murphy 1/8 79-81 - from. BOSTON .
Great documentary, David. Just as important today as 40 years ago when you made it. Or maybe even more important. Stay cool! Good luck with the upcoming elections in the USA! Respect from Norway! Again!
Thank you for sharing, That brought back many memories and emotions. I wish there was as much heart in our modern military.
Thank you J.W.. I agree.
David Hoffman - filmmaker
These norwegians are probably on what we call a rep-øvelse (repetition exersise) they did their national service (12 months) a couple a years ago, and they are called back for exersise a couple of weeks every ca 5 years until they are 42 years old. That was the standard way of doing it since national service was 18 months but the army only took 12 months of your time the first time.
Pretty interesting for their gear. It appears they were using the M65 Fishtail Parka with the Fishtail Parka Snow camo over-garments. For boots they are wearing what is nicknamed "Bunny Boots" or "Mickey Mouse Boots". For Load Bearing Equipment (LBE), they're using the LC2 Web Belt System which uses ALICE attachments. Also, Kinda weird to see that a few of the troops are using the LC1 belt. I was going to question why are they using the M16A1 when the M16A2 was made and put into service around 1982, but I forgot that the Marines gets the Army's hand-me-downs.
As of 2019 we were still wearing those damn mickey mouse boots too!
M16A2 was accepted to service in November of 1983 and Marines were the first one to issue it to the troops. Army didn't done it until 1985 or 1986.
14:00 "With all the layers of clothes we wear, we start sweating very easily" . Hehe, that´s why you don´t wear a lot of clothes if you´re moving through heavy snow, being active keeps you warm, also you want to wear wool underneath, because wool will keep you warm, even though you´re wet. Basic stuff! ;)
They use alot of cotton here. Current issue gear has really advanced in this regard. Not just to avoid medical problems but for ease of maintenance (drying, cleaning etc) Although this mainly means more synthetic fibres of course. Not so eco friendly i suppose. Win some, lose some.
How can I get a copy of this? My dad is in this video. Thank you for sharing!!!
Email my office at allinaday@aol.com with your request.
Thx you boys
That's the only reason anyone should fight, to defend their country. If everyone would stay home and defend their country there would be no wars.
Coffee ad on your heart as he smokes
I participated in a NATO exercise when I was in the Norwegian cavalry, it was around Tromsø & Narvik. Met some US Marines amongst others. This was in 2008. Their winter gear sucked (they wanted to trade stuff with me. As you can imagine, I refused 🤣. Also, it´s owned by the govt, so I couldn´t have traded anything even if I wanted to) . It was a pleasure beating their asses, hehehe.
No. 1984. Avalanche express. Two years before the tradgedy in Vassdalen. I was there.
@hansmarheim7620 what happened at vassdalen?
@@christiantrapani6145 Fifth of March 1986. An avalanche took a platoon of Norwegian soldiers. Sixteen young men died. RIP.
should have ventilated when you boarded the 53
9:18 USMC worlds finest
Conscripts must have for any nation to surive
Norwegian Gluntsong by Gunnar Wennerberg !
Teamwork 80 ' !!! Norway 🇳🇴
The first Huge Nato operation.
U.S.S. SIAPAN 1ST BN. 8TH . MAR.
81's H&S company cpl Murphy .
You are correct. Sarg. Murphy. One of my favorites. A terrific man.
take the transcript and make it a book
What Year is it in this video?
🍀i s Horahan from Boston ?
From Massachusetts.
David Hoffman filmmaker
what year was this ?
if I remember correctly, 1986.
David Hoffman-filmmaker
1983...I was there...this my company
@@Holyrollah do you remember my dad? James Smith. He talks several times here. ❤️
Anyone from this company?
Funny if they had to deal with Royal Marine Commandos.
Been there done that...twice. G Co 2/2.
Ventilate befor over heat
👍🇬🇧🇳🇴🇺🇸
Very well made film, thank you. Interesting to see Marines briefly pray together in the field, am guessing that has been put to an end now?
You are only supposed to wear white camouflage when it is actually needed. Otherwise it gets dirty and loses it's value since it is not white anymore.
Wrong, the snow is not as white as the camouflage, we we got ours in the Norwegian military we were encouraged to make it dirty.
Its also kinda a sign of somebody that knows what they are doing if they have a really dirty white camoflague, means they have been a lot in the field