NATO troops conducted a routine war exercise in the Arctic. This year felt different
Troops from 27 countries wrapped up one of the largest NATO war games since the 1980s — in the Arctic. Russia's war in Ukraine made the exercise feel like more than a game.
In March, a U.S. Marine Corps general aboard an Italian aircraft carrier floating in an Arctic fjord directed French troops to launch an amphibious assault from a Dutch ship to repel the occupation of Norway.
It was just a simulation — part of NATO's "Cold Response" exercise, which happens every two years. This year, however, with all eyes looking across Norway's border with Russia, the exercise felt a bit more real.
"Having a
