Lance Corporal Joseph Spronk, an artilleryman assigned

Lance Corporal Joseph Spronk, an artilleryman assigned to The Combined Arms Company out of Bulgaria uses small burners to melt snow into water as his unit sets up camp for the night. This unique company is comprised of multiple vehicles with multiple capabilities, including amphibious assault vehicles, M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tanks and light armored vehicles. In the weeks leading up to exercise Cold Response 16, at the end of the month, the two nations have been conducting bilateral training to improve U.S. Marine Corps capability to operate in cold-weather environments. The exercise will feature maritime, land, and air operations to underscore NATO's ability to defend against any threat in any environment. The location in central Norway provides a unique, extreme cold-weather environment for all forces involved to develop tactics, techniques, and procedures and learn from one another.