Our North - SSE Policy Update Megathread

[Blackadder1916]

Skinny folks die.

Those not carrying extra body fat may be at a disadvantage if not taking in the necessary daily calories required to live, work and fight in the North, but my experience is it's not the skinny who die (or suffer cold injury) but the stupid. Common sense rules. Stay dry and rested. Eat, but more importantly, drink fluids (but don't eat snow - it's inefficient). Of examples given in the article of causes of cold injuries, they are basic things - not changing wet socks, not using all parts of kit, not reading the terrain. Nothing to do with body fat. While I've been lucky in not having encountered any deaths due to the cold, I have seen a few serious cold injuries. The most memorable incidents happened not in the Arctic but in BC and Wainwright (during a "summer" WAINCON). All due to the stupidity of the injured, but in one incident (during my BOTC) exacerbated by the stupidity of the DS.

 

[daftandbarmy]

Those not carrying extra body fat may be at a disadvantage if not taking in the necessary daily calories required to live, work and fight in the North, but my experience is it's not the skinny who die (or suffer cold injury) but the stupid. Common sense rules. Stay dry and rested. Eat, but more importantly, drink fluids (but don't eat snow - it's inefficient). Of examples given in the article of causes of cold injuries, they are basic things - not changing wet socks, not using all parts of kit, not reading the terrain. Nothing to do with body fat. While I've been lucky in not having encountered any deaths due to the cold, I have seen a few serious cold injuries. The most memorable incidents happened not in the Arctic but in BC and Wainwright (during a "summer" WAINCON). All due to the stupidity of the injured, but in one incident (during my BOTC) exacerbated by the stupidity of the DS.

Yes - Olive Oil is a sports drink

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Those not carrying extra body fat may be at a disadvantage if not taking in the necessary daily calories required to live, work and fight in the North, but my experience is it's not the skinny who die (or suffer cold injury) but the stupid. Common sense rules. Stay dry and rested. Eat, but more importantly, drink fluids (but don't eat snow - it's inefficient). Of examples given in the article of causes of cold injuries, they are basic things - not changing wet socks, not using all parts of kit, not reading the terrain. Nothing to do with body fat. While I've been lucky in not having encountered any deaths due to the cold, I have seen a few serious cold injuries. The most memorable incidents happened not in the Arctic but in BC and Wainwright (during a "summer" WAINCON). All due to the stupidity of the injured, but in one incident (during my BOTC) exacerbated by the stupidity of the DS.

I worked doing mining exploration in -50, thanks to our stupid boss, 9/10th of the day was staying alive and warming extremities. Our skidoos and equipment suffered terribly in that cold.

 

[Kirkhill]

I sense that our northern partner is the US Army's 11th Airborne Division. A small division with two small brigades with light foot prints. Airborne and Arctic. It also ties in with NORAD and Northern Command and we have been exercising alongside it for some time now.

The Americans were talking about one of their Multi-Domain Task Forces having an Arctic focus. That seems to have gone quiet but I can't help but wonder if the concept won't be incorporated in the Continental Defence mission.

For Canada, are we looking at adding a brigade to the 11th? Or, better yet in my opinion, replicating the 11th as a Canadian division? Our Continental Division?

.....

Which brings me to this article from the Yukon News

Apaches on skis flying over the Yukon to Alaska.

U.S. Army helicopters fly over Yukon to stand up new Combat Aviation Brigade

Military spokespeople say aircraft seen travelling through northern Canadian territory to Alaska earlier in August may not be the last

www.yukon-news.com

The Combat Aviation Brigade, according to the article, will have 100 to 120 aircraft. Presumably that includes the "flying tank" known as the Apache.

The Apache covers more ground faster than a tank and can see farther. And presumably the addition of the Spike N-LOS missile with its long stand off range will decrease the vulnerability of the Apache and increase its utility.

U.S. Army Apache Fires Spike NLOS in First European Demonstration

AH-64E v6 Apache Guardians fired Spike NLOS missiles at sea-based targets at distances of up to 25 kilometers in Poland. The U.S. Army has successfully

theaviationist.com

...

We talk a lot about Peer on Peer action - but that continues to be one aspect of the spectrum that includes hybrid and low intensity operations where non-heavy systems can still be effective. Our backyard is one of those theaters.

A Light Division, with a Combat Aviation Brigade and a Long Range Precision Fires Regiment/Group would not only be a useful hedge against the possible in Canada, it would also bolster our US credentials and be available for international deployments in support of friends and allies where appropriate.

Like the tank, the helicopter is not yet dead. It needs to be used appropriately. And in many instances there still aren't any good alternatives.

 

[Kirkhill]

While the US Army is rethinking helicopters they are apparently not going away anytime soon.

Why is the Army chopping away at its chopper fleet?

A string of helicopter unit closures reveals an Army in transformation, The War Horse reports.

www.defensenews.com

manned rotorcraft writ large are not going away any time soon, particularly for the transport role. Army officials expect to operate the H-60 until 2070, and the service is steaming ahead on its replacement, the MV-75, a tiltrotor that can fly like a fixed-wing airplane and land like a helicopter, similar to the Osprey flown by the Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force. NATO experts also point out that changing Russian tactics have made its attack helicopter fleet more effective now than it was at the start of the war.

The helicopter. A highspeed all terrain truck. If the ISV and the Hilux have places then surely even the Griffon has a place.....

The Apaches and Vipers (Venoms and Blackhawks as well) as bomb/missile trucks. More rapidly relocatable than an FMTV. What do you reckon is the biggest missile that a helicopter could carry and launch?

 

[GK .Dundas]

If I'm not mistaken there's a heliportable version of the Pershing II launcher.