"DAMN IT'S COLD OUT HERE!"
If you will be defending a community anywhere near the Rockies, in the plains, in New England, in the South, in Texas, in the Northwest, on the East coast, on the West coast, or even the desert Southwest, you must gear up for the winter. Those of you who have not yet geared up for winter training had better start now. Remember one thing, cotton kills in the winter months! BDU's are made of cotton. I have had good success with wearing "Snowflage" BDU's over the layers of synthetic materials, but then again, I have been very careful not to get very wet in winter conditions. Use thin layers of synthetic or wool clothing, at least the inside layers. When cotton gets wet in cold conditions, it will freeze long before it will dry. I fell in a creek once camping and the jeans I was wearing took 24 hours to dry. BDU's would have only taken about 6 hours to dry. This was summer. In the colder months, even 6 hours is too long! Synthetics and wool will not only dry very fast, but they will keep you warmer while they are drying on your body. What if you fell in a creek during winter? Fell through ice? Got caught in the rain during Autumn or early Spring without your poncho or parka?
When you are organizing your layers, remember that getting hot and sweating under too many layers is even worse than not having them. You will be constantly adding and subtracting layers while on patrol.
When on patrol or working kind of hard, you may strip your upper body down to only one layer as not to sweat too much and cause a problem. When you are on guard duty or manning an "OP" (Observation Post) you will want to bundle up like a Polar bear, Spaceman or Eskimo. You will just be sitting or standing there without generating much heat.
You will need a pair of cross-country ski gloves that will fit in the trigger of your weapon, and a pair of arctic mittens with a loop of some kind so you can tether them to yourself. If you need your fingers then just pull a mitten off without loosing it.
In a snow covered environment, you must also camouflage yourself with white or shades of white. Most military "Over Whites" are made of cotton. If you can find white coveralls that are made of synthetic or wool material it would be much better. Cabella's and other good sporting goods stores should have synthetic fleece snow camouflage of some kind. Many have bare branches and twigs printed on them. Hint: Get something compact, oversized and lightweight. White nylon mesh or white nylon rip stop works well also. Draw bare branches and twigs with a black or brown magic marker.
Socks. Change'em twice a day! You will need synthetic/wool blend or polypropylene, wick dry socks, at least 2 pair per day. I wear these socks in the summer as well, for the thick padding and the wick dry effect that keeps the trench foot away. Also, everyone must change their socks after a grueling patrol and before they sack out. (Always sleep with your clothes and boots on, for quick deployment or escape.)
Boots? Get either waterproof Dahners or tall Sorrel type snow boots with a good tread pattern for traction. You need to be able to walk through a shallow creek and stand in it without getting your feet wet or cold. Get a size (1/2 size bigger) that will comfortably fit around the thick socks and a cushioned arch support sport insole, if the boots that you select don't already have them inside.
Head gear. I like to wear a ridiculous looking "Mad Bomber" hat lined with bunny fur that covers my ears. I got mine at Target. It looks like the hat that the Japanese fighter pilots wore in WWII. I carry both a white one and a green one. Polypropylene "Balacavas" work very well. Wool watch cap like Radar wore in MASH is good.
Suggested list:
- Waterproof Dahners or tall Sorrel type snow boots with a good tread pattern for traction.
- A pair of Spenco cushioned arch support sport insoles, if your boots don't already have them. (green & yellow in color)
- Synthetic/wool blend or polypropylene, wick dry socks, at least 2 pair per day. (Fox River - Camp and Field Boot socks)
- 2 sets of wick dry Polypropylene underwear tops and bottoms. One set that fits good and another set that's one size larger to put over the first set. (different colors per set help reduce confusion in low light, 1 set brown, 1 set black)
- Military over-whites, or white coveralls that are preferably made of synthetic or wool material. These must be big enough to fit over your other layers. If they are too tight you will get colder because of lack of airspace between layers.
- Mad Bomber hat, or polypropylene balacava, or wool watch cap.
Cross-country ski gloves that will fit in the trigger guard of your weapon, and a pair of arctic mittens with a loop or tether.
- Lots of disposable hand warmers. Put them in your gloves or mittens, in the palm of your hand. They last about eight hours. They don't work well unless they are confined in gloves or a pocket.
- If you can only find over whites in cotton, be sure that they can be removed quickly if wet or frozen. If you want winter BDU's for a snowy environment get "snowflage"
"Watch your six and keep your powder dry."
Badger
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