artic warfare training

[Evan]

i was wondering how many of you have gone through this training, if so i might have seen you in Rankin Inlet. If you have been through this training i would be intrested in your stories :warstory: .Thanks in advance.

-Evan

 

[Paras]

Well i havent been through the "Basic winter warfare" course but i recently went on an excercise to Kugluktuk,Nunavut.So i do have some experience in winter warfare.What i found was that having a CamelBak was a dam good idea.Sure everyone has their thermal canteens and it did keep its contents warm BUT you couldnt get them open cause the top was frozen.Also i got to try out the new CadPat fleece.

 

[Evan]

i‘m guessing you guys weren‘t issued the artic cadpat .

 

[Evan]

[No message]

 

[GregC]

they issue fleece in the military? It was my understanding that since it‘s made from recycled plastics, that it can very easily melt to your skin and cause terrible burns.......doesn‘t seem like a great product for the army!

 

[Paras]

Yes the army issues fleeces.The good thing about fleece is that it wicks away moisture(possibly the sinlge most important feature needed in clothing when going to the arctic) and it has the insulation and warmth that fleece provides.Also theres not arctic CadPat that i know of.

 

[Fader]

The fleece rocks!

On my winter warfare last february, I wore my Gortek Parka, with the gortex long undies (forgot the acronym, IECS or something... whatever), windpants, Mukluks, and the good ole wool took (all republican guard green of course, except the whites... whatever, still good stuff).

I was COOKING out there. To make things worse, the coldest it got was about -10, so it wasn‘t especially comfortable. The stuff I was wearing, I‘d wear if it were -40 or below.

What I got out of that ex, asides the fact that winter warfare ex‘s really suck, is that
-Muckluks are crap to do ruck marches in, as they have absolutly no ankle support.
-piling layers on CAN be a bad thing.
-The ordinery gortex jacket, combined with a fleece and windpants (with only long jons) would be perfect for -39 to -10.
-The cotton scarf is the best piece of kit (imo)
-using common sense and wearing what you‘d wear skiing (only with issued kit) on a pretty cold day, is the best way to go.

I hear the new gortex stuff starts falling apart if it‘s kept in intense cold for any prolonged period of time. One lady came back from a 6 month callout in the Yukon and she said her jacket started turning brittle and fell apart. Dunno about the validity of that though... anyone else?

 

[nbk]

Why would you need arctic cadpat? Isn‘t snow just plain white? Wouldn‘t having grey or any other shade just make you stick out more?

 

[Fader]

I wonder that too... although I guess it all depends on the terrain. Although if I remember correctly from my Winter Indoc:
-You don‘t wear you‘re whites if there‘s no snow
-You wear your white pants only if you‘re in the forest and there‘s mostly snow on the ground
-You wear you‘re white shirt and toque only if you‘re in an green, bushy plain and there‘s snowy terrain in the distance
-You wear all white if you‘re in a vast arctic tundra

So I guess there‘s still room for CADPAT, eg: if you‘re in the forest with snow mostly on the ground

 

[Paras]

-10 you say ,hmm thats pretty bad.I had to COOK,SLEEP,AND SH**** in -68 ,count yourself lucky Lui you didnt have to cook or sleep in that!As for mukluks,well i wore em the whole ex(didnt have a choice)but i took em off when we got back to the town of Kugluktuk.i was slipping and sliding all over the god dam place when i tried getting to the local store,true tho that they dont have much ankle support thats why were getting new ones.He
Hey Infanteer what kind of stuff did the Brits and Dutch have?

 

[Fader]

I meant I was COOKING out there, as in I was overheating wearing such heavy clothing. I think I was dressed for -68 weather, but in -10 conditions (therby implying it was an especially uncomfortable situation).

 

[Pikache]

I was on an ex when doing a fighting patrol during a blizzard at Meaford. Visibility due to wind conditions were so bad that I could see maybe 10 metres in front. I was assigned to a security team but how the heck are you suppose to cover an arc when you can see ****? Anyways, that‘s another story.

I was toasting under goretex stuff. I had the parka, fleece shirt, fleece pants and windpants on and I had to put away the scarf to let out some of the heat. I took out my hands from the gloves to fiddle around with snowshoes and it was red cold in like two seconds, but I was all toasty.

The kit really works.

 

[Armymedic]

I‘ve done a few Ex‘s that have dropped down cold...and there are two things I know...
1. Canadian gear is the best in the world, and
2. The new gear (iecs, ice) is better then the old.

As for the new winter CADPAT CTS is developong(its the reversible camo cover I suspect, white on one side/grey digital on the other), you need some sort of disruptive pattern if your south of the tree line. Even European Armies carry some sort of winter camo covers (German comes to mind).

So if your wondering why ICE kit comes in CADPAT

 

[Pikache]

I got issued a winter cam net.

Basically a big piece of white burlap with couple of grey blotches.

 

[Joel85]

Are the blotches digital?

 

[OpFor]

Hmm, wouldn‘t a white/grey poncho or something be better to go over your greens? Or does the winter cam net work better?

 

[Pikache]

I got basically thin white pants and thin white shirt w/ hood. Wear that over the green stuff.