Do You Change For The Season?

[SecurityGuy42 622]

Winter is fast approaching.  With it many of us know to change out our packing lists for the season.  Removing things like Jungle Boots and replacing them with Cold Weather Boots.  Adding a Gortex Jacket to the uniform items that are worn and not just packed.  Changing game charts for carrying supplies to scow or akhio sleds.  Swapping out Camelbacks for Canteens. 

 

The question is do you do that or do you just use the same packing list and gear year round?  Have you even thought about that?  Have you even planned your caches to reflect this change also?

 

Don't give specifics please.  But post some advice for people new to the militia who are looking for info on what they should do.

[Claw Hammer 481]

Army extreme cold weather boots are a must.  Blacks are good down to negative 30 and whites negative 60.

 

Yeah everything changes when its getting cold and snows.  I add snow shoes to the list as well.

 

My favorite military course was the cold weather winter warfare training 

[RevRifleman 1,512]

Wool socks and long johns.  Wool is great in that even if it gets wet it still keeps you warm.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SecurityGuy42 622]

Rations aka Food

This time of year you should be replacing canned goods and MRE type meals with freeze drieds, ramen noodles, rice, dehydrated soup mixes, and other dry foods.  Canned goods don't react well to being frozen and neither does MRE entrees and sides.  If you still carry MREs you will need to use 2-3 heaters to warm up your food.  At least 1 just to defrost it.  MREs carried during winter or allowed to freeze MUST be eaten as soon as spring thaw comes around.  Frozen MREs have a tendency to burst.  You can tell by the way the outer bag looks, if it is sucked in like it was vacuum sealed it had burst.  When you open that one up it will suck in air and everything inside will be wet from the burst pouch(s).  Frozen canned goods taste like garbage after they defrost they will have to be heated up to make them somewhat palatable again.

 

Fats and Proteins

Inuits eat whale and seal fat during winter to provide fuel for the body to burn.  BUT it takes a heavy toll on the liver of people that aren't used to that diet.  It can literally kill you.  During WW2 at the Siege of Stalingrad one of the few things the Luftwaffe was able to drop to the troops was tubes of meat paste.  Even troops that got those tubes and enough of them starved to death.  Research done during and after the war showed that the human body can not survive on protein alone.  Same as it can't survive on vegetables alone.  In order for the body to be able to process and use that much protein you must also eat breads and starches.  For some reason the body needs that to more thoroughly process the protein.  Other wise the body just "excretes" it out without using it.