That was the reward for the members of 45 Commando who returned to Rosyth on Saturday from a deployment which afforded the Commando an opportunity to refresh 'survive, move and fight manoeuvres' in the arctic environment during Exercise Cold Response.

Not that many of the marines who had to undertake the traditional 'ice hole drill' thought it much fun.

This involved first cutting a 10x6 foot hole in a frozen lake, jumping into the sub-zero water in full kit and clawing their way out again at the other side.

This winter deployment provided a welcome respite from the rigours of Afghanistan, which 45 Commando will return to later this year.

At the invitation of the Norwegian government, Exercise Cold Response was a crisis response operation set in a high intensity, multi-threat cold weather environment. The two-week long exercise involved a multi-national task group of troops, air assets and a variety of amphibious shipping, including HMS Ocean.

The exercise provided the opportunity to live on board ship, practice beach landings, project ashore into the fight and witness first hand the fundamentals of the Royal Marines' undeniable amphibious utility and flexibility.

During the landing phase, commandos raided ashore by helicopter and landing craft before the main body of Marines were landed. With the beachhead established, 45 Commando out-manoeuvred the enemy, played by the Norwegian army, and delivered a devastating deliberate attack.

Deployments such as this also breed teamwork, cohesion and resilience and underpin the Commando's recent success on operations in Afghanistan.

HMS Ocean was alongside in Rosyth from Saturday until Wednesday, and though there were tours for the Combined Cadet Forces from Fettes College and Dollar Academy plus other local organisations, the ship was not open to the general public.