Arctic ready, arctic tough, Arctic Thunder.

In today's uncertain world, one thing is certain: the next battle could be fought anywhere in any environment. The need for training in extreme environments is paramount for future success. Fortunately, the Army has units around the world in different extreme training environments.

Alaska is one location where training in an extreme environment is a daily routine. Units in US Army Alaska (USARAK), in particular the 172d Separate Infantry Brigade (SIB), know this routine all too well. The 172d SIB is headquartered at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, just outside of Fairbanks.

Temperatures in this region have some of the broadest ranges in the world. Summer temperatures often reach into mid-90 degrees Fahrenheit, and winter ambient temperatures often fall below -50 degrees. With wind-chill factor, it is not uncommon for temperatures to reach -70 degrees. These extreme temperatures obviously present challenges for maintaining personnel and equipment.

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The 4th Battalion, 11th Field Artillery (4-11 FA), which is in direct support (DS) of the 172d SIB, has had the challenge of maintaining personnel and more equipment than any other unit in the brigade. 4-11 FA meets the challenges by strictly adhering to its unit standing operating procedures (SOP) and participating in programs developed by the Northern Warfare Training Center (NWTC) at Fort Wainwright.

Cold Weather Training. NWTC developed Arctic Light Individual Training (ALIT) training required annually for all personnel in USARAK. This training has greatly minimized cold weather injuries in the command. While ALIT is designed to prepare the individual for extreme cold conditions, it also provides great information to help leaders mitigate the risks associated with the cold.

ALIT normally is taught at the battery level by personnel (E5 and above) who have attended the Cold Weather Leadership Course (CWLC). CWLC is a two-week train-the-trainer course taught by the cadre at NWTC.

The purpose of ALIT is not only to ensure soldiers survive in cold weather, but also to minimize the impact of weather extremes on combat training. In battle, weather and climate do not stop the fight--only hinder its flow.

ALIT is a three-day program conducted in mid- to late-October at the early onset of winter: temperatures usually are 10 degrees or below. These temperatures are ideal for new personnel to test their capabilities in cold weather and gain an understanding of how their equipment works before the risks dramatically increase with more extreme temperatures later in the winter. ALIT instruction includes the information in the figure.

The ALIT instruction covers snow movement. Understanding snow movement is especially important for fire supporters and their Infantry brothers who move on foot.

Cold Weather and the Soldier. Perhaps the most important of the ALIT classes is the one on cold weather clothing and equipment. Soldiers learn the acronym COLD: keep it Clean, avoid Overheating, wear Loose and Layered clothing, and keep clothing Dry.

The extreme cold weather clothing system (ECWCS) is some of the finest cold weather clothing available. It includes polypropylene top and bottom, field jacket liner, new Polar Fleece top and bottom (recently replaced the polyester brown bear suit), Gortex pants and jacket, neck gator, balaclava (a pullover wool hat for the face and neck), vapor barrier boots, trigger mittens and arctic mittens. Soldiers in cold weather should not wear cotton, especially against the skin, because it retains water and takes longer to dry.

A common injury in extremely cold conditions is contact frostbite. This is when the bare skin comes in contact with metals, plastics, etc., that are frozen. Common contact frostbite areas include the nose against the charging handle of a weapon, ears and lips against radio hand mikes and hands against any number of pieces of equipment.

When performing tasks that require greater dexterity, such as setting fuzes and operating the sight on the howitzer, soldiers should wear contact gloves, at a minimum. Contact gloves usually are thin liners made of wool but can be made of other materials as long as it puts distance between the skin and the object. Once the task demanding dexterity is completed, soldiers should don their mittens.

While soldiers don't need to wash themselves with a washcloth and an empty ammo can full of water in -20 degree temperatures, it is important that they conduct personal hygiene. This usually comes in the form of clean dry clothes. Soldiers should change polypropylene undergarments daily and wool socks at least twice a day. Most soldiers are only issued two sets of polypro undergarments; however, if a soldier rotates them twice daily, he can use them for field problems or missions for up to two weeks.

Thick, white wool socks with sock liners provide the best means of keeping feet dry while using the vapor barrier boot. A minimum of 10 pairs of socks and liners rotated will suffice for a two-week duration.

Over time, the body produces more oils in the skin to help insulate against the cold. Washing off those oils reduces that insulation. Soldiers also should learn to shave before sleeping. This allows the body time to reproduce those natural oils that help protect the face.

Soldiers should not use face camouflage when temperatures fall below 20 degrees. This makes it difficult to identify the onset of frostbite and other cold weather injuries.

The Type II extreme cold modular sleeping system consists of a moderate weight bag, a heavy weight bag and a Gortex bivy cover. Both the ECWCS and the sleep system enable a soldier to survive and train in temperatures as low as -50 degrees without an additional heat source.

Techniques for sleeping in a tent are somewhat different in a cold snowy environment. For the same reason bridges and overpasses tend to freeze first in the cold, personnel should not sleep on cots because it allows the cold air to circulate around the body. Soldiers should sleep directly on the ground on top of a compressed foam mattress instead of the new air mattress because it provides more insulation.

Every effort should be made to remove all snow in the area where the tent is to be set up. All bottom wind flaps should be pushed to the outside and free from obstruction. This enables soldiers to conduct emergency roll out drills in case of a tent fire.

Cold Weather and Equipment. This is another part of cold weather preparation that is briefly covered in ALIT but is left up to individual units to tailor to their specific needs. For the FA battalion, this is a major part of its SOP. The way soldiers operate equipment and conduct preventative maintenance checks and services (PMCS) is often very different in cold weather.

When this article was being written, the 172d SIB had begun transitioning to the Army's third Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT). During that transition, 4-11 FA will change from the M119 105-mm towed howitzer to the M198 155-mm towed howitzer. While many of the tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) in the battalion's SOP will remain the same, 4-11 FA will use this winter to develop new TTPs specific to working with the M198 in the arctic environment.

There are many challenges working with the M119 howitzer system in extreme cold conditions. Because soldiers must wear all their personal equipment in snow and icy conditions, movement times will not be ideal. In fact, movement in general, both personnel and vehicles, will take longer.

While battery occupation times are still feasible, movement to the new firing point takes twice as long in the extreme cold. It also takes twice as long to march order the battery under extreme conditions. This information is important for mission planning purposes, especially when timeliness is an issue. To help minimize movement times, tire chains for all tires should be basic issue items.

On frozen ground, it can be difficult to put a howitzer into operation properly. When the spikes from the base plate initially fail to penetrate the ground, crews sometimes use sandbags to hold the base plate in position, so the crew can more easily move the howitzer onto the base plate. One to two check rounds should be fired to help ensure the base plate spikes seat in properly before firing missions.

In extreme cold conditions, firing high-angle missions becomes more challenging. Because these missions apply more pressure to the base plate, it is not uncommon for base plates to crack.

According to the howitzer training manual, exercising the recoil should be done every 90 days. In extremely cold conditions, however, units should exercise the recoil system of each howitzer three times before each live fire. This technique reduces the number of broken seals and hydraulic fluid leaks in the recuperator by exercising the rubber seals gradually instead of shocking them with a fire mission.

It is easy to take for granted the simple things that often go unnoticed during normal temperatures. But in extreme cold, they can become show-stoppers. Stay-pin holes for the spade, which keeps the howitzer from moving during fire missions, often become clogged with ice. Soldiers should use some sort of corking device to prevent ice from building up in the holes during movements.

The sight system easily can become frozen and inoperable in extremely cold temperatures. The gears or cogs on the sight that enable the gunner to set off the quadrant and deflection can freeze due to condensation and frigid temperatures. One solution is to wrap or cover the sight with some sort of cloth. This helps limit the sight's exposure to the cold and reduces condensation on the sight.

Also, in the extreme cold, collimators often fog up and become unreadable. Section leaders should bring tissue to the field to wipe the collimator lenses.

Most PMCS tasks for the M119 can be performed even in extreme temperatures. The breech block assembly, however, should be removed and warmed in a tent or vehicle before disassembly. This warms the metals and reduces the chance of contact frostbite as most of the work on the assembly requires the dexterity of bare hands. This procedure also helps reduce the loss of small parts, especially when there is snow on the ground.

The dangers of handling artillery ammunition in extreme cold are about the same as in other weather conditions, with a few exceptions. While the most common injuries when handling ammunition are smashed toes and fingers, in the arctic environment it tends to be contact frostbite. Soldiers handling ammunition without gloves easily get contact frostbite. Also, fuze setting can be difficult while wearing cumbersome mittens: however, at a minimum, soldiers must wear contact gloves at all times to prevent frostbite injuries.

Powder temperature is always a concern in any weather. In arctic conditions, however, the temperature margin between powder in the back of the ammunition hauler and the ammunition on the ground can be vast. Every effort should be made to ensure ammunition is consistently stored covered on the ground. This eliminates severe powder temperature variances.

Also, many fuzes have temperature limitations. Gun lines and fire direction centers (FDCs) should be familiar with the temperature limitations of each fuze.

Small arms require some cold weather considerations to operate properly. When operating at lower temperatures, personal weapons should be lubricated with lubricant arctic weather (LAW) instead of the cleaner lubricant protectant (CLP). Condensation is common among metals when exposed to different temperatures; therefore, weapons should be wrapped in cloth covers, not plastic, to reduce condensation.

Metals tend to expand when they are warm and contract when cold. To prevent a mixture of expanding and contracting metals, both weapons and ammunition should be stored at the same temperature outside of tents and warm vehicles.

Also, soldiers should test- fire rifles and machine guns to exercise their recoil and buffer systems before an operation. This helps reduce breakage and improve the rate of fire. Armorers always should be prepared with extra parts during cold weather operations.

Communications and other electronic equipment can become very sensitive in extremely cold conditions. While the cold may be ideal for storing batteries, it does impair their performance. Fire supporters and others who carry manpack systems requiring batteries should make every effort to keep them as warm as possible.

Liquid crystal displays (LCD) tend to freeze at temperatures around -20 degrees and become unreadable. The best way to restore their visibility is to keep them from exposure. Radios should be insulated and packed properly in a rucksack. Other items with LCDs, such as global positioning systems (GPS), can be stored inside one of the layers of clothing of the soldier carrying it.

FDCs should maintain some heat source near digital systems, such as lightweight computer units (LCUs) or advanced FA tactical data systems (AFATDS), for the equipment to function properly. It may be necessary to place antennas, such as OE-254s, closer to wooded or brushy areas to tie them down when stakes cannot be used due to the frozen ground. Rubber and plastic become less malleable in extreme cold; the thinner RG-213 coax cables work easier than OE-254s.

Military vehicles operating in extremely cold conditions require winterization. Block heaters should be installed to prevent engines sitting in motor pools from freezing. While in the field, engines should be allowed to run for at least 10 minutes every hour when temperatures fall below zero.

Engine fluids should be changed to combat the cold. Arctic grade thinner oils and lubricants help engines start and run more smoothly. Extreme -20 degree conditions require a 60/40 antifreeze/water ratio. Tires should be inflated an additional 10 pounds per square inch (PSI) to prevent flat spots when the rubber hardens. Fire extinguishers should be winterized according to the standards outlined in the technical manual (TM).

All passengers riding in any vehicle should bring survival gear, regardless of the distance or duration of travel. In fact, soldiers should keep a survival ruck close at all times.

When handling hazardous materials, such as fuel, special care should be taken. Improper fuel handling easily can result in the loss of fingers and hands. While fuels manage to maintain their liquid state in extremely cold temperatures, the fuel itself is as cold as the ambient temperature. When fuel at -20 degrees makes contact with the skin, even through wool gloves, it has a similar affect as liquid nitrogen--the skin freezes instantly. A simple spill can become devastating. The best safety precaution is to wear non-porous rubber gloves over glove liners when working with fuel.

Units must understand the value of training in extreme environments. There is no room for "summer soldiers and sunshine patriots" in today's Army. Tomorrow's battles won't be fought at convenient times and comfortable locations.

The challenge for today's leaders is to take lessons learned in yesterday's battles and training and take care of their soldiers under any conditions. Extreme weather training will help ensure extreme combat success. Arctic Thunder!

* Characteristics of Cold Weather Environments

* Effects of Cold on Military Equipment

* Cold Weather Clothing and Equipment

* Medical Considerations in Cold Weather

* Cold Weather Bivouacs with a Tent and Stove Drill and Improvised Shelters

* Risk Management in Cold Weather Operations

* Field Craft in Cold Weather

* Snow Movement

Arctic Light Individual Training (ALIT) at the Northern Warfare Training Center (NWTC), Fort Wainwright, Alaska. This three-day training program is required for all personnel in US Army Alaska (USARAK) annually. For more information on the ALIT cold weather training, see the NWTC website at www.wainwright.army.mil/nwtc/alit.htm.

Captain Edward R. Herrmann has been serving as Commander of A Battery, 4th Battalion, 11th Field Artillery (A/4-11 FA) for more than a year. In his previous assignment, he was the Battalion Fire Support Officer for 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, Fort Richardson, Alaska. He also served as the Battalion Fire Direction Officer (FDO) and Ammunition Officer for 3-18 FA, 17th Field Artillery Brigade, III Corps Artillery, Fort Sill, Oklahoma; and Platoon FDO for C/2-17 FA, 2d Infantry Division in Korea. He is a graduate of the FA Captain's Career Course, Fort Sill, and the Combined Arms and Services Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

By Captain Edward R. Herrmann