As soldiers in warmer climes don an extra layer for their brisk winter breeze or break out the shovel should they face that rare snowstorm, others up at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, spent some field time skiing, dragging sleds for group tent set ups and building survival shelters from scratch.
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Soldiers practicing skiing as part of the Cold Weather Operations Course at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin in January 2022 (Scott Sturkol/Army)
Soldiers practicing skiing as part of the Cold Weather Operations Course at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin in January 2022 (Scott Sturkol/Army)
Soldiers practicing skiing as part of the Cold Weather Operations Course at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin in January 2022 (Scott Sturkol/Army)
Soldiers practicing skiing as part of the Cold Weather Operations Course at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin in January 2022 (Scott Sturkol/Army)
Soldier setting up a survival shelter as part of the Cold Weather Operations Course at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin in January 2022 (Scott Sturkol/Army)
Soldier building survival shelter as part of the Cold Weather Operations Course at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin in January 2022 (Scott Sturkol/Army)
Soldier building survival shelter as part of the Cold Weather Operations Course at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin in January 2022 (Scott Sturkol/Army)
Soldier building survival shelter as part of the Cold Weather Operations Course at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin in January 2022 (Scott Sturkol/Army)
Soldiers setting up group tents during the Cold Weather Operations Course at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin in January 2022 (Scott Sturkol/Army)
Soldiers setting up group tents during the Cold Weather Operations Course at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin in January 2022 (Scott Sturkol/Army)
Soldiers setting up group tents during the Cold Weather Operations Course at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin in January 2022 (Scott Sturkol/Army)
Soldiers setting up group tents during the Cold Weather Operations Course at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin in January 2022 (Scott Sturkol/Army)
Todd South has written about crime, courts, government and the military for multiple publications since 2004 and was named a 2014 Pulitzer finalist for a co-written project on witness intimidation. Todd is a Marine veteran of the Iraq War.
The project was scheduled to take 10 years and cost $16 billion. Nearly eight years later, only six of VA’s 170-plus medical sites are using the software.
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