Winter FTX
Little follow up AAR from our weekend...
I had the honor of hosting a fellow Minuteman out to our Bushcamp over the weekend! He is a past winner of Brent0331’s subscriber contest and he was the runner-up in my 24 Hour Patrol Kit contest .
So, my buddy Chad and I did a night patrol and used my son as our Basecamp comms guy, which, although slow on the radio, answered when we checked in so that was nice practice for him. We spent half the night patrol on the trail and the other half off the trail.
Some takeaways from the weekend…
-Bump helmets are great for the dark to protect your dome from unseen branches. Carry it on or in your pack until you need it. A simple bump helmet is inexpensive and can be used as a mounting platform for night vision, thermals, head lamps, and more. ***Get a helmet cover.*** The noise of a branch on the bare helmet is loud. The cover will help dampen it.
-Eye Pro is a must
-We had a half moon with full snow coverage and could see extremely well with no additional light.
-The snow helped dampen our footsteps when moving.
-Windshirts rock! Chad and I were both wearing lightweight windshirts and they are worth their weight in gold for this stuff. We never overheated and never got chilled when conducting SLLS. I wore a Helikon Windrunner and Chad had on a HPG Wind Cheater.
-Change your socks often
-Have a puff jacket and get a Helikon Swagman Roll or HPG Serape. Invaluable in winter conditions when in a static/fixed position and great for plussing up ones sleep system.
-Drink lots of water
-Use chapstick
-Turn off the “Radio On” voice on your Baofeng radios along with the beep for changing channels and shuffling through the menu feature. Oh, and turn the backlight off as well…
-Everything takes longer to do in winter conditions. From weapons handling, comms gear, movement, etc... Go practice everything in the cold.
-Make sure you have fresh batteries in your electronic gear. Trying to turn on a light, use your radio, or use your NVG’s when you need them and realizing you forgot too check batteries can be a real kick in the pants.
-Constantly check each other (buddy checks)
-Don’t be afraid to push yourself
-Practice firemaking in the cold, when you are cold.
-Shooting under night vision is AWESOME!!!
-COFFEE is a must
-Lots of PMA (positive mental attitude)
It was cold camping out over the weekend.
You need to be able to “operate” in these conditions. Learn how your body responds to these conditions. Practice your field skills such as firemaking, making shelters (getting out of the wind is extremely important), cooking, water procurement, and more.
In a basecamp setting, make sure when gathering firewood that you have at least 3 times the amount you think you will need. In camp we went through A LOT of wood. When you feel cold go do camp chores to warm up.
Having a basecamp to work out of is HUGE… But it isn’t always a reality. Chad and I talked about this while out on our patrol and the reality of an overnight while out on patrol, with temps in the teens with sub zero wind chills, is daunting. Getting out of the wind will be paramount. Having some sort of insulation under you (such as a foam pad) will be important for preventing conductive heat loss from sitting on the cold ground. Sleep is not going to happen like you think it will. You may get 20 to 30 minutes of “sleep” at a time. A puff jacket and the above mentioned HPG Serape or Helikon Swagman Roll will get you through a tough spot like this. Those chemical hand warmers are another good item to keep in your kit. I had 2 of them going and that little bit of extra warmth helped take the edge off. But, even with the above considerations, it is still going to suck.
The cold beats you up no matter how prepared for it you are. This makes it even more important to get out in it and learn how your body responds physically, mentally, and emotionally. Learn how your gear works in it. Experience how much longer it takes to do even the most mundane of tasks.
It was a good time for sure. Something I didn’t consider that night was how the extreme weather can condense movement and increase the likelihood of contact. We noticed just how brutal the wind and cold was just 10ft of elevation and bit less vegetation. While we always try to stay off the crest and in vegetation; everyone will in those conditions. Don’t expect a potential adversary to stay in the easy terrain
Cheddar
Also, fishnet longjohns are incredible for stuff like this. Brynje makes good ones. Either a windproof liner, or windpants under your pants also help, in conjunction with the windshirt. UF Pro has an optional zip-in liner, if you have their pants.
High R-Value sleep pads are The Way.
Great article!