It all started with a call from the U.S. Navy in November, asking if I would be interested in taking a trip to the Arctic later this winter.
It would be part of a three-week operation in the Arctic Ocean in March called Operation Ice Camp, which has taken place every two years since 1946.
This involves scientific research, assessment of military operational capabilities in the region and the security of our nation.
They don’t usually bring civilians, I was told, but they wanted me to go with them to see what really happens during these operations.
“I’m intrigued,” I said. “Tell me more.”
They told me I would fly to the North Slope of Alaska, right next to the Arctic Ocean, where I would meet several dozen sailors and scientists and spend a few days (and nights) observing them at work.
Then we would board a helicopter, which would take us to an active ice floe – a large mass of ice floating freely on open waters, particularly the Beaufort Sea – and encounter a US nuclear submarine, which is expected to breach the ice so we could board, then descend into the cold depths, 180 feet below the ice.
I thought about it for a minute, then said, “Fantastic. I’m in.”
I couldn’t refuse it.
If you asked me to come up with the ultimate fantasy adventure trip, I could never have even imagined this one.
The experience – which we documented in the new special “Battle for the Arctic with Bill Hemmer,” now airing on Fox Nation – was new to me.
It took almost eight hours to fly from Washington, D.C., to northern Alaska, and when you cross the Yukon, it’s almost exclusively ice and snow as far as the eye can see.
By the time we arrive in Deadhorse, Alaska, an aptly named oil town, it’s no longer clear where the Arctic Ocean ends and the land begins.
My only thought was, “Sir, can you please turn this plane around? Because nothing can live there.
When we landed on that ice, it was probably the softest landing I’ve ever felt.
It was like hitting a pillow.
And then the door opened and we felt the first whiff of arctic cold on our faces.
You can’t really prepare for the cold of Alaska, especially in Deadhorse, where temperatures can get as low as -50°C, with a real feeling of -88°C.
(No, I’m not kidding.)
I’m not a beginner when it comes to freezing temperatures.
I was in the crowd at the 1981 “Freezer Bowl,” the coldest football game ever played, between the Cincinnati Bengals and the San Diego Chargers.
(It was so cold, some said, that a hot chocolate from the concession stand would turn into a milkshake.)
But these freezing temperatures were Nothing compared to the Arctic.
The difference is that there is no place in Alaska to hide from the cold, especially at Ice Camp.
When those irritating winds start blowing, you can’t avoid them.
We did a really good job with getting the clothes ready.
Except for the boots.
My boots were absolutely not effective.
My right toe remained numb for about a month after we returned.
And we only stayed there for three days.
I have no idea how these scientists stay there for five complete weeks.
The other concern was polar bears.
They didn’t really pose an imminent threat, but polar bears roam there occasionally, enough that there are monitors keeping a close eye on furry intruders and rifles in every tent, just in case you need to fire a warning shot.
I wasn’t really looking over my shoulder, but it was still something that was on my mind.
Daily operations at Ice Camp covered everything from military exercises (communication with submarines or aircraft) to scientific research.
In one of the tents, they drilled huge holes into the ice, part of ongoing studies into water temperatures and how (and when) ice melts.
It’s a fascinating topic, especially when talking to scientists directly involved in climate science.
The White House has suggested that Arctic summer ice will melt completely by 2030, but when I spoke to one of the Ice Camp scientists, a University of Alaska Fairbanks researcher who studies climate science for almost three decades, he believes that this estimate is “much too rapid”.
This year’s operation is of particular importance, mainly due to heightened geopolitical tensions in the region.
Eight countries have territory in the Arctic and seven belong to NATO.
The other is Russia.
The region’s mineral resources are estimated at $1 trillion, and a warming Arctic means there are more opportunities to exploit these minerals.
Admiral Daryl Caudle, who has served as the 35th commander of U.S. Naval Forces Command since 2021, told me that Russia’s ability to exploit these minerals is (for now) minimal.
But what will it be in 20 or 40 years?
That’s what concerns him.
And then there is China, which declared itself a “near Arctic state” in 2018.
No part of China physically touches the Arctic Circle, but the country has established relationships with Norwegian companies and opened a scientific laboratory north of the Arctic Circle.
Why would they do this?
The Chinese are very invested in rare earths, and there is a plot including under the Arctic ice.
Right now, these are international waters and the United States, along with its British and Canadian allies, want to make sure it stays that way.
When I asked Caudle why the military had bothered to take a nuclear submarine and blast it through the Arctic ice, he replied: “We want Moscow and Beijing to know that we can arise anywhere. »
Speaking of that sub, that was my next stop.
We traveled 200 miles north by helicopter to a camp on the ice floe to pick up our ship: the USS Hampton, a 360-foot, 6,900-ton nuclear-powered submarine from San Diego.
This particular ice floe had been chosen after months of searching for the ideal location.
The submarine needed almost exactly three feet of ice to break through.
Less than two feet would not be enough to hold the ship in place.
To be honest, my biggest concern was claustrophobia.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve never been on a nuclear submarine.
After removing enough ice to open the hatch, we climbed down a ladder and entered the belly of the sub, and immediately realized there wasn’t much room.
The passages – they didn’t call them corridors – were only 24 inches wide.
This doesn’t seem to bother the other 150 men on board.
Each of them has a goal at all times and they are constantly in motion.
It wasn’t just the human passengers; every square inch of this submarine has a purpose.
Nothing is superfluous.
Caudle explained the convenience of space to me in a downright poignant way.
He said, “Bill, you live this big,” and he spread his hands apart, “and then you understand that you have to live this big,” and he brought his hands together, “but in the end, everything you really have need this,” then he held his hands inches apart.
This, he says, is underwater life.
If confined life doesn’t get you, loneliness probably will.
At least that’s what I thought.
I was only there for 24 hours and it was weird being so completely cut off from the outside world.
A submarine has the ability to receive and transmit certain signals, but to be truly stealthy, any communication is rare.
I remember talking to a commander after watching us on a screen disappear into the depths of the Arctic Ocean.
He had just returned from a 15-day trek from San Diego across the Bering Strait.
I told him, “You don’t have the ability to look at an iPhone, check Instagram, Facebook or any other social media. What does it do ?
Without missing a beat, he said, “Freedom.”
This instinct does not come from the same place in all sailors.
For this commander, his father and grandfather had served on a Navy submarine.
It was part of his lineage, his DNA.
Most of the guys on this submarine had some naval history in their past.
The others, at least the ones I spoke with, told me that before joining the Navy, they had felt lost.
They needed direction.
One guy told me, “I found my family on that submarine.” »
The entire trip was exhilarating and gave me even more respect for our military.
They protect us in ways and parts of the world that many of us never think twice about.
Would I go back and do it again?
Would I brave the arctic cold, the risk of frostbite, polar bears, cracks in the ice, and being stuck inside a crowded submarine with some of the smartest men and the bravest people I have ever met?
Of course.
But next time I’ll bring warmer boots.
Bill Hemmer’s new series, “Battle for the Arctic,” is now airing on Fox Nation. This story is adapted from an interview between Hemmer and Eric Spitznagel.
New York Post
