NAVY'S ARCTIC TEST: NATURE PUTS FORWARD OWN ‘ICE BUCKET CHALLENGE’ TOPPING RUSSIAN DRILLS (STA BREAKING NEWS and ARCHIVES)

by STANews , Saturday, September 20, 2014, 10:23

Maneuvers are not the only challenge Russian sailors face in the Arctic. The rigorous landscape itself is demanding: icy winds, rough seas and long missions, as RT's crew on board the destroyer Admiral Levchenko has learnt.

“It takes a special kind of person to make a living out at sea. It takes another to do so in the vanguard of the Arctic – the North Fleet,” says RT’s Murad Gazdiev.

The sea is in the blood of the sailors and they have been on duty there for the best part of a year, in total isolation, with only short-term meetings with their families.

“Of course, I miss my family, especially when we go on long and difficult deployments. But, all said and done, my wife knew what she was getting in to,” Viktor Vasiliyev, Captain third class, told RT.

Viktor saw his daughter for the first time when she was 7 months old.

VIDEO, PICS AND MORE...

http://rt.com/news/189240-russia-arctic-military-drills/