Military Review English Edition November-December 2014 | Page 60

cut off blood flow to the arms and hands. This caused
cold and numbness in hands and fingers to develop
rapidly, and significantly increased the danger of cold
weather injuries. Moreover, the Extreme Cold Weather
Clothing System itself, while functioning decently in
the cold weather of Vermont, exhibited major design
flaws in Arctic conditions.13
Such challenges are not unique to U.S. forces trying
to overcome the challenges of the Arctic environment.
Despite Canadian advances in certain areas of survivability, such as with his cold weather clothing, the
Canadian Army still struggles to solve critical challenges of Arctic warfare, such as the use of ceramic body
armor and updated tent designs. That the Canadian
Army continues to work through its Arctic tactics and
techniques, with its wealth of institutional knowledge
in Arctic warfare, is a telling indicator of the challenges

of operating in such an extreme environment. This further underscores the need for the U.S. Army and joint
community to begin focused preparation immediately.
Apart from equipment concerns, it is also important to emphasize the human dimension of survivability.
In the author’s conversations with the 35th Canadian
Brigade Group’s lead Arctic trainer, Master Warrant
Officer Carl Pelletier, he frequently noted that the
Arctic response companies have significant difficulty retaining young soldiers after their rotation into a
winter Arctic environment. While the troops fare well
during summer training, the misery and demands of
the cold drive many soldiers to resign soon after returning from their first winter Arctic exercise.14
Pelletier’s observations echo those of Col. Harold
Hansen, an infantry officer writing about mountain
and cold weather operations in 1957: “Operations in

National Guard soldiers from Maine and Vermont worked with members of the 35th Canadian Forces Brigade at Baffin Island, just south
of the Arctic Circle, as part of Exercise Guerrier Nordique, 4 March 2014.
(Photo by Staff Sgt. Sean Keefe, Maine Army National Guard)

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November-December 2014  MILITARY REVIEW