International community works together at U.S. Navy’s ICEX 2022
08 March 2022
U.S. NAVY ICE CAMP QUEENFISH --
Joining U.S. military forces at Ice Exercise (ICEX) 2022 are personnel from the Royal Canadian Air Force and Navy, as well as the United Kingdom Royal Navy.
“Our ICEX 2022 team includes key contributors from the British and Canadian armed forces,” said Rear Adm. Richard Seif, commander of the U.S. Navy’s Undersea Warfare Development Center in Groton, Connecticut, and the ranking officer at ICEX 2022. “It’s in all of our best interests to understand the Arctic region and the unique environment it represents. We have a proud tradition of working together with partners and allies in the Arctic and will continue to do so.”
Canadian aircraft were among the first to carry crucial camp construction equipment to a remote ice floe 160 nautical miles off the coast of Alaska, where the floating Ice Camp Queenfish was built.
“The Royal Canadian Air Force’s support to ICEX 2022 in the Arctic is just one example of daily collaboration with our American allies, which includes 24/7 NORAD operations,” said Maj. Gen. Eric J. Kenny, commander of 1 Canadian Air Division, Canadian NORAD Region, Joint Forces Air Component and Search-and-Rescue Region Trenton.
“Our ski-equipped CC-138 Twin Otters and the crews that fly them are well-equipped to operate in even the harshest of northern environments in order to provide logistical support to the United States Navy during this exercise,” he continued.
Chief Petty Officer Glenn Scott of the U.K. Royal Navy’s Maritime Warfare Center is serving as an ice camp watch officer at ICEX 2022 and one of six United Kingdom personnel taking part in the exercise, along with two submariners and two submarine logistics officers.
“We have a longstanding relationship working together in the Arctic,” said Scott. “Taking part in the Ice Exercises allows us to share best practices and continues to grow our Arctic capabilities. It's vitally important that we maintain the connections that we build during ICEX, because they greatly enhance our abilities to conduct Arctic operations.”
ICEX 2022 is a joint combined exercise that takes place over the course of a month north of the Arctic circle, with personnel stationed at the temporary Ice Camp Queenfish, built on a floe of Arctic ice in international waters, as well as in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, and two operational U.S. Navy submarines. ICEX allows the Navy to assess its operational readiness in the Arctic, increase experience in the region, advance understanding of the Arctic environment, and continue to develop relationships with other services, allies and partner organizations.
“The value is huge to work with other Arctic nations here,” said Howard Reese, director of the Navy’s Arctic Submarine Laboratory, the organization charged with planning, coordinating and executing ICEX. “It’s important for both the U.S. and our international partners and allies to be involved in exercises like this to keep our personnel trained in Arctic operations. Just as it is anywhere in the world, working together in the Arctic allows us to understand each other’s operations and integrate seamlessly whenever the need arises.”