NATO members have concluded a major exercise in the Arctic called Joint Viking 25. The US military has taken part, but the alliance is facing deep skepticism from the White House: President Donald Trump has suggested the US might not protect NATO allies who don't spend enough on their own defense.
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00:00On a mission off the coast of Norway, the coastal rangers have been notified of a suspicious ship and need to act quickly.
00:09Their job has become even more relevant as hostile actors intensify their attempts to target Europe's underwater cables and pipelines.
00:18It's a very diverse skill set that is required to do that.
00:22They need to be physically fit to be able to handle the climbing onto the ship.
00:27They need to be well prepared to handle any situation they may encounter on ship.
00:33They need to be able to fight if needed.
00:38This is just one of the scenarios NATO is training for here in the Arctic, with 10,000 troops participating.
00:45Among them are also US Marines.
00:48Their commander-in-chief, President Trump, has shown little appreciation of the alliance.
00:53But the Marines here say they benefit from joint exercises.
00:58Most of us are not used to this type of temperature,
01:01so being able to learn from them when they live here and learn different techniques, different ways to operate.
01:07They had a lot of skills and techniques that they've developed over time,
01:10and we got to learn from those, give them some of ours, trade information back and forth,
01:14and then everyone comes out better on the other side.
01:19Here, the Marines learn from the Norwegian comrades how to stay calm, should they fall through the ice.
01:26During this exercise, you can see soldiers from different nations training side by side.
01:32But the uncertainty about the US engagement with NATO is growing.
01:37Will the Americans pull out of drills next year?
01:40Will they reduce troops in Europe?
01:43Or favor those NATO countries that spend a certain percentage of their GDP on defense?
01:50The future of the alliance seems to hang in the balance.
01:54Europe has long been reliant on the US for its firepower, intelligence and logistics,
01:59capabilities that others don't bring to the table, the chief of the Norwegian army tells us.
02:05But he also says, as commanders, they try not to pay too much attention to politics.
02:11The key message internally as well is to keep calm and carry on,
02:17because we have a long relationship with all our allies, especially the Americans.
02:23As Joint Viking 25 concludes, they're already planning next year's exercise,
02:29hoping very much that the US will be a part of it again.