Photos show US Army paratroopers jumping out of giant C-17s into the freezing Arctic for an airborne assault. Soldiers say it's a rush.

• US Army paratroopers jumped into Arctic terrain at an exercise in Alaska last month.
• Photos show the mission, including troops loading into C-17s and landing on the icy ground.
• Soldiers said one of the biggest challenges was figuring out how to land on the ever-changing Arctic terrain.

In the skies above Alaska, US Army paratroopers, loaded with heavy gear, take the plunge out of a perfectly fine airplane into freezing air temperatures and whipping Arctic winds.

As they drop toward the earth, how smoothly the landing goes depends on the approach, as well as what the ground looks like that day. Some days, these airborne soldiers are in for a soft snow landing, but others, exposed, frozen mud and dead weeds can complicate things.

The experience is quite intense, troops told Business Insider, an adrenaline rush only heightened by doing it in the Arctic environment.

Last month, US Army Pacific hosted a Joint Pacific Multinational Rotation Center training event near Fairbanks, Alaska. The two-week war-gaming exercise involved over 8,000 troops from the 11th Airborne Division, as well as troops from international allies and partners

The JPMRC is still relatively new, only in its third year. In addition to the Arctic, USARPAC also does a rotation of it in the jungles of Hawaii in the fall. US Army leaders have identified these environments — the tundra and the tropical — as ones in which its soldiers need to be prepared to fight.

Recent efforts to increase combat readiness and effectiveness, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region, come amid what US officials have identified as increasing aggression from China and heightened tensions with Russia and North Korea.

In an recent interview at Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks, Alaska, USARPAC commander Gen. Charles A. Flynn said troops needed to be prepared to fight enemy forces in a host of challenging environments.

JPMRC is an effort to do just that, and during a visit to Alaska during this year's training, troops told BI they felt like what they were doing in Alaska to challenge themselves and innovate for cold-weather combat was writing US Army history.

For paratroopers, JPMRC is an opportunity to test themselves against one of the harshest environments on the planet. When troops crowded into giant C-17 aircraft prior to their jumps, they carried a hefty amount of supplies and gear with them.

"It's pretty different in the Arctic because you've got to have all your gear," Sgt. Donte Smith told BI. He said that it's different from places like Hawaii where troops may need a lot less gear but "plenty of water."

The Arctic is a rather harsh and unforgiving environment, and if the wind is too intense, or the weather isn't right for troops to jump, the exercise will be postponed.

Smith detailed the various pieces of gear a paratrooper may want to make sure they have before jumping. The difficulty here is determining what can be discarded because it may be unnecessary versus what's crucial to prevent frostbite or to confront other challenges.

Throughout JPMRC, soldiers as well as paratroopers said they often prefer to be "comfortably cold," meaning they're perhaps not wearing extremely heavy layers to keep themselves toasty because they may overheat and sweat, which ranges from being an annoying distraction to dangerous, in the heat of battle.

Paratroopers said that choosing what gear you need in the Arctic is about finding a balance, making sure you don't overheat in the action or freeze to death when things slow down. On the crowded, hot flight up in the aircraft, the gear may feel overbearing, but it's necessary when exposed to the elements.

"That's the biggest thing when you jump in the Arctic and into the snow," Smith said. You want to have that sustainment while you're out there "so when you land, you're prepared, or as prepared as you can be."

During the JPMRC training, a group of 200 paratroopers with the 11th Airborne Division practiced executing an airborne assault mission and landing into enemy territory.

50 soldiers were in each aircraft but couldn't all be dropped at once. That meant aircraft pilots had to coordinate on tactics and strategy for dropping troops and returning to the drop zone as quickly as possible.

On the fight up, anticipation builds, paratroopers said. Some enjoy the adrenaline rush before jumping. Smith said that while troops still have anxiety, it does get progressively easier after the first jump.

When paratroopers are going to land, the aim is to approach the ground in a very specific way that keeps them as safe and uninjured as possible — feet together, head down, arms tucked in. Falling out of an airplane, even when it's controlled with a parachute can be risky, but the military trains to mitigate the dangers.

The problem with jumps in the Arctic is that the ground conditions are incredibly unpredictable. Some days, a certain section of ground may be covered in snow, white and fluffy. Others, the snow could be uneven, hard like the ground.

Or there could be no slow. With the high winds scattering loose snow, the ground may be exposed, meaning paratroopers would be landing on frozen mud, with dead plants and trees poking out.

Paratroopers are a key assault force element, skilled at capturing places like bases and airfields. Once they're back on the ground and have seized control of a target area, they can ideally rely on the supplies they dropped into the fight with to maintain the hold on the captured position until reinforcements can arrive.

That's what makes their kits and preparations so important. What they leave the plane with may be all they have for a hard fight.

While the event is stressful, the adrenaline rush was palpable, troops told BI. "I like jumping in the snow," Smith said, calling it a "fun" experience.

"It's a great feeling," he added, saying he thinks "every soldier should do it once in their career because it's a great feeling."