U.S. Air Force 352d Special Operations Wing deployed to Norway at the invitation of Norwegian forces in order to enhance war-fighter capabilities in challenging arctic and mountainous terrain, within special operations forces and conventional forces and operations, March 2-18, 2020 near Banak Air Base, Norway. The training was part of exercise Cold Response 2020, which encompassed live ammunition fire, infiltration and exfiltration and cold-weather training utilizing the 352nd SOW’s CV-22B Osprey and MC130J Commando II.
Cold Response is a Norwegian-led military exercise in northern Norway in March 2020. The exercise is now being terminated earlier than planned, due to the ongoing coronavirus situation in Norway. The winter exercise Cold Response takes place in an area that stretches from the town of Narvik to Finnmark district in northern Norway. The main part of the exercise will be located in the district of Troms. From January on, there was visible military activity in some parts of the country, as some of the allied participants arrived in Norway to prepare for the exercise.
The 352nd Special Operations Wing is an operational unit of the United States Air Force Special Operations Command currently stationed at RAF Mildenhall, United Kingdom. The unit’s heritage dates back to 1944 as an air commando unit. The 352nd Wing serves as the focal point for all U.S. Air Force special operations activities throughout the European theater for U.S. European Command (USEUCOM), as well as Africa for U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM) and Southwest Asia and the Middle East for U.S. Central Command.
