An "Entirely Different Ballgame": The Marine Corps and NATO Exercises in Artic Norway, 1978-86
The U.S. Marine Corps consistently delivered substandard performance during training exercises in the Arctic in the late 1970s to mid-1980s. An examination of archival records, journal articles, student papers, and interviews with participants provides two explanations for the long period in which M...
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Marine Corps University Press
2024
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.35318/mch.2023090203 |
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crmarinecorpsupr:10.35318/mch.2023090203 2024-05-19T07:34:00+00:00 An "Entirely Different Ballgame": The Marine Corps and NATO Exercises in Artic Norway, 1978-86 Donlon, Brian 2024 http://dx.doi.org/10.35318/mch.2023090203 unknown Marine Corps University Press Marine Corps History volume 9, issue 2, page 57-77 ISSN 2381-375X 2381-3768 journal-article 2024 crmarinecorpsupr https://doi.org/10.35318/mch.2023090203 2024-05-01T06:52:14Z The U.S. Marine Corps consistently delivered substandard performance during training exercises in the Arctic in the late 1970s to mid-1980s. An examination of archival records, journal articles, student papers, and interviews with participants provides two explanations for the long period in which Marines were regarded as “rather poor winter warriors.” First, to overcome the challenges of Arctic operations, the Marine Corps had to make sustained, often slow, improvement in the three-step process of learning to survive, move, and fight in the Arctic. Second, the Corps’ culture simultaneously hamstrung and accelerated improvement in this Arctic trinity. Ultimately, the Corps’ slow road to success in the Arctic highlights the dependence of strategic change on proficiency at the lowest tactical levels. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Marine Corps University Press Marine Corps History 9 2 57 77 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Marine Corps University Press |
op_collection_id |
crmarinecorpsupr |
language |
unknown |
description |
The U.S. Marine Corps consistently delivered substandard performance during training exercises in the Arctic in the late 1970s to mid-1980s. An examination of archival records, journal articles, student papers, and interviews with participants provides two explanations for the long period in which Marines were regarded as “rather poor winter warriors.” First, to overcome the challenges of Arctic operations, the Marine Corps had to make sustained, often slow, improvement in the three-step process of learning to survive, move, and fight in the Arctic. Second, the Corps’ culture simultaneously hamstrung and accelerated improvement in this Arctic trinity. Ultimately, the Corps’ slow road to success in the Arctic highlights the dependence of strategic change on proficiency at the lowest tactical levels. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Donlon, Brian |
spellingShingle |
Donlon, Brian An "Entirely Different Ballgame": The Marine Corps and NATO Exercises in Artic Norway, 1978-86 |
author_facet |
Donlon, Brian |
author_sort |
Donlon, Brian |
title |
An "Entirely Different Ballgame": The Marine Corps and NATO Exercises in Artic Norway, 1978-86 |
title_short |
An "Entirely Different Ballgame": The Marine Corps and NATO Exercises in Artic Norway, 1978-86 |
title_full |
An "Entirely Different Ballgame": The Marine Corps and NATO Exercises in Artic Norway, 1978-86 |
title_fullStr |
An "Entirely Different Ballgame": The Marine Corps and NATO Exercises in Artic Norway, 1978-86 |
title_full_unstemmed |
An "Entirely Different Ballgame": The Marine Corps and NATO Exercises in Artic Norway, 1978-86 |
title_sort |
"entirely different ballgame": the marine corps and nato exercises in artic norway, 1978-86 |
publisher |
Marine Corps University Press |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.35318/mch.2023090203 |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_source |
Marine Corps History volume 9, issue 2, page 57-77 ISSN 2381-375X 2381-3768 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.35318/mch.2023090203 |
container_title |
Marine Corps History |
container_volume |
9 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
57 |
op_container_end_page |
77 |
_version_ |
1799472035976445952 |