NATO begins its biennial drills in the Arctic on Monday, placing more emphasis on the role of civilians in supporting the military, at a time of high tensions over U.S. President Donald Trump’s push to annex Greenland from fellow NATO member Denmark.
The drills, named Cold Response, focus on defending the alliance in the European Arctic, where NATO-members Norway and Finland share a border with Russia. The drills are expected to run from March 9th to 19th this time.
14 Nations Participate
The exercise has been included as a part of Arctic Sentry, the NATO mission to strengthen its presence in the polar region that was launched to defuse tensions with Trump over Greenland.
Trump has insisted that Greenland is integral to the U.S. to fend off threats from Russian and Chinese interests in the Arctic, and that Denmark is unable to ensure its security. The governments of both Denmark and Greenland have responded, stating that the island is not for sale.
This year, approximately 25,000 troops from 14 nations—including the U.S. and Denmark—will take part in Cold Response, mostly across northern Norway and Finland.
While the U.S. has also withdrawn one squadron of F-35 fighter jets from the exercise, it is expected to have 14,000 troops present for the exercise. The U.S. government has declined to say whether this was due to the conflict with Iran.
“The U.S. military is a globally deployed force, and it is not abnormal for forces to be dynamically re-tasked or reallocated for a host of reasons,” a spokesperson for the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Europe told Reuters.
Year Of ‘Total Defence’
Norway has declared 2026 as the year of “total defence”, which puts emphasis on boosting the readiness of civilians, businesses, and public institutions to cope with war and other catastrophes.
“We want our military to do its job of defending the country. To do that, we are completely reliant on most aspects of society functioning as normal,” Major-General Lars Lervik, head of the Norwegian Army, told Reuters.
“This is also an opportunity to rehearse specifically where civilians can give direct support to the military effort, for instance, with the health service treating a higher number of injured soldiers, Norwegian or from allied forces, than usual.”
On Thursday, the military is expected to run a scenario where hospitals in northern Norway will be tested on their ability to treat a high number of casualties being transported from an imaginary frontline in Finland.
(With inputs from Reuters)
