Wearing tight clothing and footgear restricts blood circulation and invites cold injury. It also decreases the volume of air trapped between the layers, reducing its insulating value. Several layers of lightweight clothing are better than one equally thick layer of clothing, because the layers have dead airspace between them. The dead airspace provides extra insulation. Also, layers of clothing allow you to take off or add clothing layers to prevent excessive sweating or to increase warmth. In cold temperatures, your inner layers of clothing can become wet from sweat and your outer layer, if not water repellent, can become wet from snow and frost melted by body heat.
Wear water repellent outer clothing, if available.
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It will shed most of the water collected from melting snow and frost. Before entering a heated shelter, brush off the snow and frost. Despite the precautions you take, there will be times when you cannot keep from getting wet. At such times, drying your clothing may become a major problem. On the march, hang your damp mittens and socks on your rucksack. Sometimes in freezing temperatures, the wind and sun will dry this clothing. You can also place damp socks or mittens, unfolded, near your body so that your body heat can dry them.
In a campsite, hang damp clothing inside the shelter near the top, using drying lines or improvised racks. You may even be able to dry each item by holding it before an open fire. Dry leather items slowly. If no other means are available for drying your boots, put them between your sleeping bag shell and liner. Your body heat will help to dry the leather. R-Repair your uniform early before tears and holes become too large to patch. Improvised sewing kits can be made from bones, plant fibers, cord, and large thorns.
A heavy, down-lined sleeping bag is a valuable piece of survival gear in cold weather. Ensure the down remains dry.
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If wet, it loses a lot of its insulation value. If you do not have a sleeping bag, you can make one out of parachute cloth or similar material and natural dry material, such as leaves, pine needles, or moss. Place the dry material between two layers of the material. Other important survival items are a knife; waterproof matches in a waterproof container, preferably one with a flint attached; a durable compass; map; watch; waterproof ground cloth and cover; flashlight; binoculars; dark glasses; fatty emergency foods; food gathering gear; and signaling items.
Remember, a cold weather environment can be very harsh. Give a good deal of thought to selecting the right equipment for survival in the cold. If unsure of an item you have never used, test it in an "overnight backyard" environment before venturing further. Once you have selected items that are essential for your survival, do not lose them after you enter a cold weather environment. Although washing yourself may be impractical and uncomfortable in a cold environment, you must do so.
Washing helps prevent skin rashes that can develop into more serious problems. In some situations, you may be able to take a snow bath. Take a handful of snow and wash your body where sweat and moisture accumulate, such as under the arms and between the legs, and then wipe yourself dry. If possible, wash your feet daily and put on clean, dry socks.
Change your underwear at least twice a week.
Cold Weather Survival
If you are unable to wash your underwear, take it off, shake it, and let it air out for an hour or two. If you are using a previously used shelter, check your body and clothing for lice each night. If your clothing has become infested, use insecticide powder if you have any. Otherwise, hang your clothes in the cold, then beat and brush them. This will help get rid of the lice, but not the eggs.
If you shave, try to do so before going to bed. This will give your skin a chance to recover before exposing it to the elements. When you are healthy, your inner core temperature torso temperature remains almost constant at 37 degrees C Since your limbs and head have less protective body tissue than your torso, their temperatures vary and may not reach core temperature. Your body has a control system that lets it react to temperature extremes to maintain a temperature balance.
There are three main factors that affect this temperature balance—heat production, heat loss, and evaporation. The difference between the body's core temperature and the environment's temperature governs the heat production rate. Your body can get rid of heat better than it can produce it. Sweating helps to control the heat balance.
Maximum sweating will get rid of heat about as fast as maximum exertion produces it. Shivering causes the body to produce heat. It also causes fatigue that, in turn, leads to a drop in body temperature. Air movement around your body affects heat loss. It has been noted that a naked man exposed to still air at or about 0 degrees C 32 degrees F can maintain a heat balance if he shivers as hard as he can.
Cold-weather warfare - Wikipedia
However, he can't shiver forever. It has also been noted that a man at rest wearing the maximum arctic clothing in a cold environment can keep his internal heat balance during temperatures well below freezing. However, to withstand really cold conditions for any length of time, he will have to become active or shiver. The best way to deal with injuries and sicknesses is to take measures to prevent them from happening in the first place. Treat any injury or sickness that occurs as soon as possible to prevent it from worsening.
The knowledge of signs and symptoms and the use of the buddy system are critical in maintaining health.
The following paragraphs explain some cold injuries that can occur. Hypothermia is the lowering of the body temperature at a rate faster than the body can produce heat. Causes of hypothermia may be general exposure or the sudden wetting of the body by falling into a lake or spraying with fuel or other liquids. The initial symptom is shivering. This shivering may progress to the point that it is uncontrollable and interferes with an individual's ability to care for himself. This begins when the body's core temperature falls to about When the core temperature reaches 35 to 32 degrees C 95 to 90 degrees F , sluggish thinking, irrational reasoning, and a false feeling of warmth may occur.
Core temperatures of 32 to 30 degrees C 90 to 86 degrees F and below result in muscle rigidity, unconsciousness, and barely detectable signs of life. If the victim's core temperature falls below 25 degrees C 77 degrees F , death is almost certain. To treat hypothermia, rewarm the entire body. If there are means available, rewarm the person by first immersing the trunk area only in warm water of Rewarming the total body in a warm water bath should be done only in a hospital environment because of the increased risk of cardiac arrest and rewarming shock.
One of the quickest ways to get heat to the inner core is to give warm water enemas. However, such an action may not be possible in a survival situation. Another method is to wrap the victim in a warmed sleeping bag with another person who is already warm; both should be naked. The individual placed in the sleeping bag with the victim could also become a hypothermia victim if left in the bag too long. If the person is conscious, give him hot, sweetened fluids. Honey or dextrose are best, but if they are unavailable, sugar, cocoa, or a similar soluble sweetener may be used. There are two dangers in treating hypothermia—rewarming too rapidly and "after-drop.
After-drop is the sharp body core temperature drop that occurs when taking the victim from the warm water.
Its probable cause is the return of previously stagnant limb blood to the core inner torso area as recirculation occurs. Concentrating on warming the core area and stimulating peripheral circulation will lessen the effects of after-drop. Immersing the torso in a warm bath, if possible, is the best treatment. This injury is the result of frozen tissues. Light frostbite involves only the skin that takes on a dull whitish pallor. Deep frostbite extends to a depth below the skin. The tissues become solid and immovable. Your feet, hands, and exposed facial areas are particularly vulnerable to frostbite.
The best frostbite prevention, when you are with others, is to use the buddy system. Check your buddy's face often and make sure that he checks yours. If you are alone, periodically cover your nose and lower part of your face with your mittened hand. The following pointers will aid you in keeping warm and preventing frostbite when it is extremely cold or when you have less than adequate clothing:. A loss of feeling in your hands and feet is a sign of frostbite. If you have lost feeling for only a short time, the frostbite is probably light. Otherwise, assume the frostbite is deep. To rewarm a light frostbite, use your hands or mittens to warm your face and ears.
Place your hands under your armpits. Place your feet next to your buddy's stomach. A deep frostbite injury, if thawed and refrozen, will cause more damage than a nonmedically trained person can handle. Figure , lists some "dos and don'ts" regarding frostbite. These conditions result from many hours or days of exposure to wet or damp conditions at a temperature just above freezing.
The symptoms are a sensation of pins and needles, tingling, numbness, and then pain. The skin will initially appear wet, soggy, white, and shriveled. As it progresses and damage appears, the skin will take on a red and then a bluish or black discoloration. The feet become cold, swollen, and have a waxy appearance. Walking becomes difficult and the feet feel heavy and numb. The nerves and muscles sustain the main damage, but gangrene can occur. In extreme cases, the flesh dies and it may become necessary to have the foot or leg amputated. The best prevention is to keep your feet dry.
Carry extra socks with you in a waterproof packet. You can dry wet socks against your torso back or chest. Wash your feet and put on dry socks daily. When bundled up in many layers of clothing during cold weather, you may be unaware that you are losing body moisture. Your heavy clothing absorbs the moisture that evaporates in the air. You must drink water to replace this loss of fluid. Your need for water is as great in a cold environment as it is in a warm environment Chapter One way to tell if you are becoming dehydrated is to check the color of your urine on snow.
If your urine makes the snow dark yellow, you are becoming dehydrated and need to replace body fluids. If it makes the snow light yellow to no color, your body fluids have a more normal balance. Exposure to cold increases urine output. It also decreases body fluids that you must replace. Exposed skin can become sunburned even when the air temperature is below freezing. The sun's rays reflect at all angles from snow, ice, and water, hitting sensitive areas of skin—lips, nostrils, and eyelids. Exposure to the sun results in sunburn more quickly at high altitudes than at low altitudes.
Apply sunburn cream or lip salve to your face when in the sun. The reflection of the sun's ultraviolet rays off a snow-covered area causes this condition. The symptoms of snow blindness are a sensation of grit in the eyes, pain in and over the eyes that increases with eyeball movement, red and teary eyes, and a headache that intensifies with continued exposure to light.
Prolonged exposure to these rays can result in permanent eye damage. To treat snow blindness, bandage your eyes until the symptoms disappear. You can prevent snow blindness by wearing sunglasses. If you don't have sunglasses, improvise. Cut slits in a piece of cardboard, thin wood, tree bark, or other available material Figure Putting soot under your eyes will help reduce shine and glare.
It is very important to relieve yourself when needed. Do not delay because of the cold condition.
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Delaying relieving yourself because of the cold, eating dehydrated foods, drinking too little liquid, and irregular eating habits can cause you to become constipated. Although not disabling, constipation can cause some discomfort. Increase your fluid intake to at least 2 liters above your normal 2 to 3 liters daily intake and, if available, eat fruit and other foods that will loosen the stool. Insect bites can become infected through constant scratching. Flies can carry various disease-producing germs.
To prevent insect bites, use insect repellent and netting and wear proper clothing. See Chapter 11 for information on insect bites and Chapter 4 for treatment. Your environment and the equipment you carry with you will determine the type of shelter you can build. You can build shelters in wooded areas, open country, and barren areas. Wooded areas usually provide the best location, while barren areas have only snow as building material.
Wooded areas provide timber for shelter construction, wood for fire, concealment from observation, and protection from the wind. In extreme cold, do not use metal, such as an aircraft fuselage, for shelter. The metal will conduct away from the shelter what little heat you can generate.
Shelters made from ice or snow usually require tools such as ice axes or saws. You must also expend much time and energy to build such a shelter. Be sure to ventilate an enclosed shelter, especially if you intend to build a fire in it. Always block a shelter's entrance, if possible, to keep the heat in and the wind out. Use a rucksack or snow block. Construct a shelter no larger than needed.
We've got to get back into it. Follow her on Twitter at HopeSeck. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. You May Also Like. My Profile News Home Page. Most Popular Military News. Peters had completed more than jumps with the Navy's elite Leap Frogs parachute team. Matthew Golsteyn comes after years of on-and-off investigations by the Army.
Now the Army's Helping With Cancellations Scores of soldiers purchased airline tickets home for the holidays, only to learn that their leave was never fully approved. And most training, from that being done in Alaska, Vermont or New York, is at the small unit, tactical level. Fry pointed to work that the Marines have long done with the Norwegians as something the Army should consider.
Marines rotate a force of to Norway for extended joint training. That number was recently more than doubled to One suggestion the captain has might be to value Arctic training the same way the Army does airborne qualifications, including with a Skill Qualification Identifier. That number makes it easier for leadership to track how many soldiers have the appropriate training. And that mentality, coupled with an integrated Arctic focus similar to that given to airborne training, would help commanders prioritize unit training to emphasize those qualifications and seek more training opportunities.
For example, the 10th Mountain Division is designated as a light infantry unit. Small changes, such as a Skill Qualification Identifier, can direct the focus of commanders and resources, Fry said. Somehow they fit it all in. Todd South is a Marine veteran of the Iraq War. He has written about crime, courts, government and military issues for multiple publications for more than a decade. In , he was named a Pulitzer finalist for local reporting on a project he co-wrote about witness problems in gang criminal cases. Todd covers ground combat for Military Times.
Paratroopers from 1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry Regiment move to an extraction point after a successful airborne operation in Deadhorse, Alaska, February 22, The Northern Warfare Training Center in Alaska provided the following numbers of troops trained there over the past decade: A paratrooper with 1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry Regiment, awaits transportation after a successful airborne operation and follow-on mission in Deadhorse, Alaska, Feb. New items include new gloves, headgear, sleds and skis. How cold is too cold? But the two are not equal.
Soldiers assigned to 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment conduct battle drills in a Stryker armored vehicle during an arctic deployment as part of the U.