The 5 coolest pictures of the military training under the northern lights

GEAR CHECK: Our readers don't just follow the news - they stay ready. Featured gear from this story is below.

Daniel Sharp

The polar lights, also known by their scientific name aurora polaris, are a breathtaking natural phenomenon. This is caused by electrically charged particles, from the sun, slamming into the Earth’s upper atmosphere at a high rate of speed. Earth’s magnetic field then redirects the particles towards the poles.

The polar lights, also known by their scientific name aurora polarisare a breathtaking natural phenomenon. This is caused by electrically charged particles, from the sun, slamming into the Earth’s upper atmosphere at a high rate of speed. Earth’s magnetic field then redirects the particles towards the poles. One of the best places to see them is above the article circle. Here, the northern lights, known as aurora borealis, tend to be much more visible. Thus, making it a frequent backdrop for our troops while they train in extreme cold weather.

70th Brigade Engineer Battalion operating in their training area at Arctic Anvil near Fort Wainwright, Alaska (Photo by 1st Lt. Haileigh Combs)

The Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) passes under the northern lights while participating in exercise Trident Juncture (Photo by MC3 Kevin Leitner)

U.S. Army AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopter assigned to 1st Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment Attack Reconnaissance Battalion (ARB) under an aurora sky on Fort Wainwright, Alaska (Photo by CW2 Cameron Roxberry)

Coast Guard Cutter Healy (WAGB 20) observes the northern lights while operating above the Arctic Circle in Baffin Bay (Photo by CPO Matt Masaschi)

The northern lights glow above an Avenger Air Defense System assigned to 1st Battalion, 265th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, Florida Army National Guard, during Exercise ARCTIC EDGE 2022 at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska (Photo by SrA Joseph P. LeVeille)

 

You may also like

Blog

A dispute over a drone allegedly escalated into a murder-for-hire plot inside a Florida jail. Investigators say a 69-year-old man offered a fellow inmate $5,000 to kill his neighbor, then gave him information that could help locate the intended target.
Iran is already fighting the United States. Yemen’s Houthis are attacking Saudi Arabia. North Korea is firing ballistic missiles again. And behind these flashpoints sit nuclear powers, military alliances and rival superpowers. None of this means World War III is inevitable, but the connections between these conflicts show how quickly a regional crisis could become something much larger.
A deadly Los Angeles bus crash had already killed two people when a second tragedy unfolded just blocks away. A news helicopter covering the first crash suddenly lost altitude and plunged from the sky, killing a reporter, her pilot and a man on the ground.
The Department of Veterans Affairs is putting a record $1.17 billion behind a problem that still affects thousands of Americans who once wore the uniform. The money will go to 680 organizations nationwide to help homeless Veterans and those at immediate risk of losing their homes. The funding comes after the VA housed 51,936 homeless Veterans in fiscal year 2025, its highest total in seven years.
About 90 sailors aboard the USS Kearsarge returned to Naval Station Norfolk after 10 days at sea, only to discover their cars had been towed. The vehicles had been left in a fenced lot near Pier 14 during a base concert, leaving sailors waiting for hours at the impound lot to get them back.

Like This Story? Check Out What Our Community Is Buying

Our best sellers are designed for real-world use - not hype.

View Best Sellers