Force, the is mandated for research and training for cold-weather warfare. The , the advanced post-graduate ranger training for cold-weather warfare, is established by this unit. Norway – Hosts an annual, multi-national winter exercise Cold Response course. In 2016, the participants came from Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Latvia, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, the United States, the United Kingdom and Norway. Russian Federation – Russia trains combined forces in winter annually. In 2013, it held four winter readiness exercises under shorter-than-usual notice, according to Wilk: A February exercise with seven thousand soldiers, several hundred fighting vehicles and 48 aircraft and helicopters and three March exercises, one using seven thousand soldiers, 250 fighting vehicles, 50 artillery units, 20 aircraft and helicopters as well as 36 warships. Training occurs at the Far Eastern Higher Combined Arms Command School in Blagoveshchensk in the Amur Oblast of eastern Russia. The school covers mountain and Arctic warfare and qualifies officers as "Commanders of Motorized Rifle Platoons (Arctic)". United Kingdom – Royal Navy sailors and Royal Marines train in Norway above the Arctic Circle. The Royal Marines Mountain Leader Training Cadre is the UK premier cold-weather troop detachment. United States – The US military maintains cold-weather and mountain warfare training centers at the Army Northern Warfare Training Center at Fort Wainwright, Fairbanks, Alaska, the Army Mountain Warfare School at Camp Ethan Allen, Jericho, Vermont, the Special Forces Command Mountaineering Warfare Training Detachment at Fort Carson, Colorado Springs, Colorado, the US Air Force Arctic Survival School at Eielson AFB, Alaska, and the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center, in Bridgeport, California. Equipment used in cold-weather training exercises Naval operations Subfreezing conditions have significant implications for naval operations. The 1988 US Navy Cold Weather Handbook for Surface Ships outlines effects on: icing on the topsides of ships, ship systems, underway replenishment, flight operations, and personnel. It also discusses preparations for cold-weather fleet operations. Topside icing on ships Topside icing is a serious hazard to ships operating in sub-freezing temperatures. Thick layers of ice can form on decks, sides, superstructures, deck mounted machinery, antennas and combat systems. The presence of topside ice has many adverse effects, principally it: Increases ship displacement Decreases freeboard Impairs operation of deck machinery Impedes personnel movement on deck Restricts helicopter operations Disrupts operation of radio and radars Combat systems degradation Icing may prevent a warship from conducting any type of offensive operations, including