Cold-Weather Operations:
Leadership

The principles of leadership are unaffected by the weather, but challenges for leaders, especially of company and smaller-sized units, can be profound during cold-weather. To accomplish their mission, leaders must contend with not only the enemy Soldier, but also the stress of the environment on their men and equipment. The stress of cold will adversely affect attitudes and morale, and leaders must recognize and cope with these effects to maintain their unit's effectiveness.

Leadership Challenges During Cold-Weather Operations:

1. Many Soldiers come from regions where winters are not severe, and few have experience in living outdoors during cold weather. Initially, these Soldiers may lack confidence in their ability to cope with and survive in cold weather.

2. The cold can seem inescapable. Even when Soldiers are able to stay warm, the effects of cold are felt in awkward cold-weather clothing, confinement to small shelters, and problems with vehicles and equipment. These effects can lead to anger, frustration, and depression, which can be intensified by fatigue, periods of isolation, and shortened daylight hours.

3. When conditions are extremely cold and Soldiers have been out for a long time, the need to stay warm tends to become the individual's most important concern. Soldiers may appear confused or forget how to do things they are trained to do. Some Soldiers may attempt to shirk their duties in order to avoid the cold and stay warm.

4. The need to wear multiple layers of clothing or remain bundled in sleeping bags and blankets when it is cold, combined with extended periods of darkness can intensify the sense of isolation Soldiers often experience when they are separated from home, Family, and friends. Some individuals respond to these feelings by "huddling up" to keep warm, and withdrawing within themselves away from the unit. This can lead to mental sluggishness, increased susceptibility to cold injuries and degraded individual effectiveness, unit discipline, and cohesion.

Positive Leadership and the Right Attitude:

1. Leaders are responsible for prevention of cold injury among their troops. Susceptibility to cold injury varies considerably, and safe exposure times for different Soldiers exposed to the same cold-weather conditions also varies considerably. Newly assigned individuals, who have little or no cold-weather training and experience, often sustain cold injuries. Individuals with considerable cold-weather experience (often those in leadership positions) can become nonchalant or desensitized to the threat of cold injury. Leaders must be alert for carelessness even in Soldiers experienced in cold weather operations.

2. Proper training before deploying into cold-weather regions is more important for prevention of cold injuries than repeatedly being exposed to cold temperatures. Soldiers need to be taught that when it is cold, tasks may be more difficult, but they are not impossible. This knowledge comes from confidence in their abilities to survive and perform their mission during cold weather.

   Leaders can build this confidence by having Soldiers practice tasks and survival skills outdoors in the cold, and by conducting cold-weather training exercises. Training outdoors in cold weather before deployment will help build confidence in Soldiers' ability to physically, mentally, and emotionally contend with the stress of cold-weather conditions. After several weeks of training and experience in cold weather, most Soldiers learn to cope fairly well.

   Leaders must be alert and avoid the common trap of allowing cold-weather training exercises to become a camping trip. If this occurs, Soldiers will become distracted from accomplishing their mission. Leaders must remind Soldiers that their job is to fight, and the purpose of the training exercise is to teach them how to carry out their mission under cold-weather conditions.

3. A positive "can-do" attitude helps in coping with cold-weather problems. Leadership must be aggressive and emphasize personal example to demonstrate that cold conditions can be overcome.

   Direct supervision must be emphasized to ensure duties are properly performed and work is equitably distributed among all unit members. Leaders must be alert for individuals who have withdrawn from the group. Leaders should keep talking to their troops and encourage them to talk among themselves; use the buddy system to maintain communication, and to watch for cold injuries.

   Keep Soldiers busy and physically active. Plan operations carefully to avoid unnecessary periods where troops are left standing in the open.

   Use hot food to improve morale.

   Allow Soldiers more time to accomplish tasks and more discretion regarding how to accomplish them. However, do not allow them to use the cold as an excuse for failing to carry out orders, comply with unit SOP's, or properly perform their duties.

4. Because cold-weather clothing is heavy and cumbersome, it greatly increases the energy required for physical activity. The increased effort can result in overheating and sweating, especially during hard work, and can contribute to increased fatigue and dehydration. Perspiration buildup should be minimized by opening clothing and removing layers during heavy work and scheduling frequent short rest breaks.

5. Wind-chill temperatures are widely reported by television and radio meteorologists, but they really only estimate the danger of cooling the exposed flesh of inactive persons. Windproof clothing greatly reduces windchill effects. Rather than cancel outdoor training at some arbitrary temperature limit, training should be modified and safety surveillance should be increased as the weather becomes more severe, and the danger of tissue freezing increases.

6. Shelter from weather is critical. The standard shelter is the tent, but improvised shelters (snow caves, snow trenches, lean-tos, etc.) can be constructed from local materials.

7. Humans do not acclimatize to cold weather nearly as well as they can acclimatize to hot weather, although repeated cold exposure does produce what is referred to as habituation. With habituation to repeated cold exposure, humans adjust mentally and emotionally.

8. Besides cold temperatures, other environmental stressors will be encountered during cold-weather operations. Although warm clothing and proper shelter are the first line of defense in protecting against the effects of cold weather, adequate food and water consumption are next in importance. Food and water requirements of Soldiers are high during cold-weather operations, and the effects of dehydration and inadequate diet are as serious as in hot climates.

   Soldiers become dehydrated during cold-weather operations. Dehydration increases susceptibility to cold injuries, reduces work capacity, appetite, and alertness, and can lead to other medical problems such as constipation, kidney disorders, and urinary infections.

   The body's requirement for water is high during cold-weather operations. Even in cold weather, sweating can contribute to body water losses. Heavy clothing can cause overheating, especially during heavy work, which in turn leads to sweating. In cold dry conditions, sweat may evaporate readily without the individual sensing it. Unless water intake exceeds body water losses, dehydration will result.

Soldiers reduce their fluid intake during all field operations, but especially during cold weather.

a. Because field rations contain less water than garrison food, Soldiers take in less water with the food they eat, and they usually do not drink enough to compensate.

b. Most people do not feel thirsty until they are already significantly dehydrated, and thirst may be even less noticeable in cold as in hot weather.

c. When weather is particularly cold and/or rainy, many Soldiers purposely allow themselves to become dehydrated to avoid having to leave comfortable shelter to urinate outdoors.

d. When temperatures are extremely low, water in canteens and bulk supply containers may freeze, restricting water availability.

Water consumption requirements are more difficult to predict for cold-weather operations than hot, because the effects of the environment are greatly modified by an individual's own bodily responses, the workload, and the amount of clothing worn. This individual variability affects the amount of water required to maintain proper hydration.

Caloric requirements of Soldiers are 25 to 50% higher during cold-weather operations than in warm or hot weather. Soldiers expend more energy during cold weather, due to wearing heavy cold-weather gear and the increased effort required for working or walking in snow or mud or for preparing positions in frozen ground. In addition, the body uses more calories keeping itself warm when the weather is cold, which also contributes to the increased energy requirement.

Proper prior planning is critical to successfully ensure that food is still hot when received by the individual Soldier. Ensuring that Soldiers in the field receive adequate amounts of hot rations is a major challenge for leaders during cold-weather operations, especially when Soldiers are not stationed close to field feeding facilities or kitchens where rations can be heated and kept warm.

Other field-feeding problems often arise from freezing of rations and a lack of readily available liquid water to rehydrate dry ration components. Four standard MREs per day must be eaten to supply a Soldier the necessary calories during cold weather, if no other rations are provided.

Coping with Food and Water Problems:
1. Soldiers must drink even when they are not thirsty. Leaders should establish a program of regularly scheduled enforced drinking.

   a. Inactive persons in comfortable climates need a minimum of 2 quarts of water a day to prevent dehydration. Using this as a basis, a general recommendation for Soldiers participating in cold-weather operations is to consume about half a quart (half a canteen) of water with breakfast, lunch, dinner, and before going to sleep at night, with an additional half quart drunk every hour during the workday (more if the work is strenuous enough to cause the individual to sweat) for a total of at least 5-6 quarts per day.

   b. Soldiers should be taught that the lighter the urine color, the better hydrated; dark yellow urine is a sure indicator that fluid consumption should be increased.

   c. Squad leaders should attempt to monitor urine color of squad members. This is easiest if the ground is snow covered or frozen and a specific site is designated for squad members to urinate. The appearance of a dark yellow stain will be noticeable. Even if the particular individual cannot be identified, the squad leader can intensify efforts to encourage all squad members to increase fluid consumption.

2. In extremely cold weather (below -10°F), standard issue canteens and the 5 gallon metal water containers can freeze. Spare canteens should be kept inside heated vehicles or tents. At least one full 5 gallon water container per squad should be kept thawed at all times. When that container begins to be dispensed, another full container should be brought inside for thawing. It can take several hours to thaw these containers in heated vehicles or tents.

3. The principles of proper field sanitation are the same as in warm weather (FM 21-10-1), but their application during cold weather may require some modification of procedures. Poor sanitation can lead to outbreaks of disease.

   It is difficult to maintain dish or hand washing water hot enough to keep it sanitary in cold weather, which can contribute to the spread of disease. This limited availability of hot water and the discomforts associated with undressing in the cold may discourage Soldiers from maintaining proper personal hygiene. Leaders should provide warm water frequently to encourage personal hygiene.

   In addition, commanders should prohibit indiscriminate waste disposal, and insist that Soldiers use only properly designated latrine and garbage areas.

Source: SUSTAINING HEALTH & PERFORMANCE IN COLD WEATHER OPERATIONS