 The cold weather, the fresh air, the humbly mountains. These were some of the conditions that the Marines with 1st Battalion 7th Marines had the pleasure of experiencing during the mountain training exercise at Mountain Warfare Training Center in Bridgeport, California. The battalion was split into companies and went into a force-on-force mock firefight to put into action what they learned and were taught during their MTX. The Marines are trained by Mountain Warfare instructors referred to as Red Hats. These serve as mentors stemming from the battalions all the way to the individual Marine. Four days of grueling attacks from the opposing force, sleeping and below freezing temperatures and altitudes of just under 10,000 feet. The Marines with 1st Battalion 7th face these unfamiliar conditions head on and thrive in them as they prepare.