The Mammoth Book of Secrets of the SAS & Elite Forces

by Jon E. Lewis

  Sunburn

  Exposed skin can become sunburned even when the air temperature is below freezing; the sun’s rays reflect at all angles from snow, ice and water. Extra sensitive areas of skin are the lips, nostrils and eyelids. You should apply sunburn cream or lip salve whenever you are out in the sun.

  AVOID OVERHEATING

  When you get too hot, you sweat and your clothing absorbs the moisture. This affects your warmth in two ways; dampness decreases the insulating quality of clothing and as sweat evaporates your body cools.

  Adjust your clothing so that you do not sweat. You can do this by partially opening your parka or jacket, by removing an inner layer of clothing, by removing heavy mittens or by throwing back your parka hood or changing to lighter head cover. The head and hands act as efficient dissipators when overheated.

  You can get sunburn more easily at high altitudes during the same time of exposure to the sun.

  Snow Blindness

  This is caused by the reflection of ultra-violet rays caused by the sun shining brightly on a snow covered area. The symptoms of snow blindness are a gritty feeling in the eyes, pain in and over the eyes that increases with eyeball movement, eyes watering and becoming red and a headache, which intensifies with continued exposure to light.

  Prolonged exposure to these rays can result in permanent eye damage. To treat snow blindness, bandage the eyes until the symptoms disappear.

  You can prevent snow blindness by wearing sunglasses.

  SNOW BLINDNESS

  It is vital to protect your eyes in bright sun and snow. Wear your sunglasses. If you don’t have any, improvise. Cut slits in a piece of card-board, thin wood, tree bark or other available material. Putting soot under your eyes will reduce glare.

  Constipation

  If you put off relieving yourself because of the cold, eat dehydrated foods, drink too little liquid and have irregular eating habits, you may become constipated.

  Although not disabling, constipation can cause discomfort. Increase your fluid intake to at least two quarts per day and eat fruits, if available and other foods that will loosen your bowels. Eating burnt wood and charcoal may help!

  Hygiene

  Although washing yourself daily may be impractical and uncomfortable in a cold climate, you must do it. Washing helps to prevent skin rashes that can develop into more serious problems.

  In some situations, you may be able to take a snow bath. Take a handful of snow and wash your body where sweat and moisture accumulate, such as under the arms and between the legs, front and rear, and then wipe yourself dry.

  If you cannot bathe, periodically wipe yourself dry in these areas. If possible wash your feet daily and put on clean, dry socks. Change your underwear at least twice a week. If you are unable to wash your underwear, take it off, shake it and let it air out for an hour or two.

  If you are with natives or are using a shelter that has been used before, check your body and clothing each night for lice. If your clothing has become infested, use insecticide powder if you have some. Otherwise, hang your clothes in the cold, then beat and brush them. This will help get rid of the lice, but not their eggs, which will persist in the folds of your clothes.

  KEEP CLOTHING CLEAN

  This is always important from the standpoint of sanitation and comfort; in winter, it is also important for warmth. Clothes matted with dirt and grease lose much of their insulation quality. If the air pockets in clothing are crushed or filled up, heat can escape from the body more readily.

  A heavy down-lined sleeping bag is one of the most valuable pieces of survival gear in cold weather. Make sure the down remains dry. If wet it loses a lot of its insulation value.

  SHELTER

  Treeline Survival

  The Arctic terrain of, for example, northern Norway restricts freedom of movement and is well suited to defence by small units. On the other hand transport of logistic support and reinforcements is very difficult. Even if you do receive reinforcements you will still be heavily outnumbered by enemy forces, and so there is a good chance that either alone or with your unit, you will find yourself in a struggle for survival as you try to evade the enemy.

  If you are in the treeline, you may find that the snow is not deep enough to build snow shelters, but you can make brushwood shelters. There are five basic designs which you can adapt to suit your purpose or the conditions:

  1 Single lean-to shelter

  2 Double lean-to shelter

  3 Wigwam style shelter

  4 Tree pit shelter

  5 Fallen tree shelter

  Basic building rules

  The lean-to designs are the simplest, but the wigwam is the best, warmest and most comfortable. The tree pit and fallen tree are best used in tactical situations. If you have these basic designs in your mind, you can adapt them to most circumstances.

  Build the main wall with its back to the prevailing wind, and weave it thickly with whatever wood or branches are available. A small wall can be built downwind to provide reflection for the heat from a fire. You can use snow to reinforce the woven wall, but it should not go too high up or it will melt into the “bivi” from the roof.

  If possible, dig down to ground level for the fire. If this is impossible, build a good solid firebase of mixed layers of logs, snow and brushwood. You can burn an open fire in all types of brushwood shelter except the tree pit, in this case the walls are inclined to melt back and the “bivi” collapse.

  The single lean-to shelter

  The only problem with these shelters is that you must have a knife, saw or axe. The Eskimos have shown that with a knife you survive; without one you need a miracle.

  When building this lean-to make sure it is tactically located so that you can build a fire large enough to spread the warmth equally throughout the shelter. The shelter is improved by using a reflector of green logs with the fire.

  With the reflector correctly placed, the warm air from the fire should circulate as shown. It is vital the sleeping shelf is insulated from the ground as without it you will rapidly lose body heat to the ground.

  The double lean-to shelter

  A larger group will be able to produce the more ambitious double lean-to which is a lot warmer than the single lean-to. It consists of two singles with the high, open sides facing each other across the fire. The fire reflector is not required. As with the single lean-to side walls can be added.

  Teepee or wigwam shelters

  This is a tent construction which can be easily built using a parachute (paratepee). It is possible to cook, eat, sleep and make signals from inside. You need a number of good poles about 3 to 4 metres (10 to 13 ft) long, or you can improvise as shown.

  The tree-pit shelter

  This is a good option in an evasion environment when the only people looking for you are the enemy. The only draw-back is that a fire tends to melt the walls and cause a collapse.

  The fallen tree shelter

  This is a mixture of the teepee and the tree-pit solutions and its design will contain greater or lesser elements of each according to the circumstances.

  Tents and Tentsheets

  Tents can sleep five or 10 men and are large and bulky; they tend to be used in base areas, and generally have to be carried on a vehicle or on a “pulk” – a man-towable sledge. The tents used by British forces are the Canadian single-pole or British ridge tent.

  If you are working in small groups, you will not be able to carry a tent, so you will each carry a tentsheet. In its simplest form this is a diamond of canvas with buttons and buttonholes on each edge. They can be joined together to form a tent of almost any size, but normally it would be for eight to 10 men; the tent group.

  MAKING A FIRE IN THE ARCTIC

  The skill to make a fire means the difference between death and survival. You should have waterproof matches in your kit.

  1 Dig down to the frozen earth for your firebase. If this is not possible, build a base of logs over the snow. You need a layer or brushwood
, a layer of snow, then another layer of each, finally topped off with good thick layers of logs.

  2 Build your fire on this base

  3 Use tinder to start the fire. It tinder is a problem, you can always find dry spruce twigs in the lowest branches, peel off birch bark, or use fir root. All contain high concentrations of tar and burn with a long-lasting flame. Fir root is especially good.

  4 If you need to use fuel to help the fire along, dip your twigs in it and soak them. Don’t waste fuel by pouring it on.

  5 Use dead tree logs as the main fuel. It burns best.

  Tentsheets give you a portable, windproof, lightproof, robust and flexible system that meets all the needs of survival and tactics. It takes time to construct a shelter using tentsheets, and you will need to be able to do it quickly when the temperature is 20° below freezing, so practise now. And learn to live in it.

  THE TENTGROUP COMMANDER’S DUTIES

  As commander, it is your responsibility to plan and organize the following:

  1 Correct pitching of the tent or tentsheets

  2 Allocation of sleeping space

  3 Storage of weapons and equipment

  4 Sentry roster and alert states

  5 Routine for drying clothes

  6 Fire precautions

  7 Blackout drills

  8 Track and camouflage discipline

  9 De-icing of tent

  10 Foot inspections

  11 Overall welfare of your men

  Siting and pitching your tent

  The tentgroup commander will direct this very simple drill for pitching a tent.

  1 Select the best site Look for shelter from wind and the enemy, and make sure the snow is deep enough to dig your shelter in.

  2 Stow your kit This should be neatly stowed to one side, normally to the left of the intended doorway.

  3 Level the site Level to near ground level. The tentgroup commander will designate the area to dig.

  4 Find insulation At the same time, designated men find brushwood and undergrowth to use as insulation.

  5 Install cooking kit The designated cook unpacks the cooking kit, lights the stove and gets the rations ready for cooking. The lamp is lit.

  6 Lay the tent The tent is laid out with the door positioned away from the enemy (and, ideally, away from the prevailing wind) so that they will not be able to see any light.

  7 Raise the tent Peg the edges down and raise the tent on its own poles, if you have them; otherwise use brushwood poles. Do not use your skis or sticks except in an emergency. The cook takes the lamp, cooker, rations etc into the tent.

  8 Settle in Weatherproof the edges of the tent with snow (thrown over brushwood, which prevents icing and allows easy dismantling). The cook begins to heat the water (use clean, fresh snow, stored in plastic bags). Pass in sleeping mats and bags and lay them out. Make sure the floor is flat: or everyone will slide during the night and lose sleep, and the snow will harden into uncomfortable lumps. Dig a cold hole by the door.

  9 Food and warmth By now it will be pretty warm from the stove and the lamp. Two men will finish off the outside ski pit, weapons rack, fuel pit and latrine, but everyone else is thinking about food and admin, such as weapon and equipment maintenance. When you have eaten, night routine will begin.

  It’s –20°C but you have got your drills right and so you kept warm while the shelter was erected. Now you’re inside you’re comfortable in your shirtsleeves! It only took 15 minutes – and that’s as good as a fully trained Arctic soldier

  Once the tent is up, your immediate priority is camouflage. Issue white netting gives good cover, but you must use poles to distort its outline and to avoid shadows formed by the shape of the tent. Snow walls around the tent provide cover as well as protection from the elements. The fighting position can be camouflaged with a few branches to minimize the shadow of the trench from the air.

  The two-man tentgroup

  The tentsheet is the basic unit from which you can make a simple two-man tent, using two sheets. Kit layout is all important. These tents are extremely cramped and you must decide where everything is stored so that you can move out at speed and your oppo can pack your kit when you are not there.

  The four-man tentgroup

  The ways in which the tentsheet is folded and joined to produce different-size tents is not obvious and must be thoroughly practised in dry training before you get out on the ground. Each man in the section must have an exact “job description” so that the tent is erected as a drill.

  TENTGROUP STORES

  The commander must make sure that the following are carried, and that they work.

  1 Pulk

  2 Tent (5 or 10 man)

  3 Snowshoes (if not being worn)

  4 Snow shovels (2)

  5 Stove and spares (2)

  6 Pressure cooker

  7 Lantern with case plus spares, including mantlets (1 or 2)

  8 Machete (gollock) and case

  9 Saucepan

  10 Fuel funnel

  11 Fuel containers: 2-gal, 1-gal or half-gal

  12 Ski/pulk repair kit

  Alternatives are:

  1 Tentsheets (1 per man)

  2 Fuel containers, 1 or 2 pint (5)

  3 Two-man stoves (1 per 2 men)

  Note: The amount of fuel carried will depend on the time to be spent in the field.

  The five-man tent group

  This is the usual half-section or fireteam layout complete with stove. Ideally you should not use ski poles in the construction of the tent as you may need them in a hurry.

  TENTGROUP ROUTINE

  The group will evolve its own routine depending on tactical conditions, but the commander and cook always sleep by the door. Cooking is also done by the door (in case of fire and to allow moisture to escape) or in the cold hole. Other points for comfortable tent life are:

  1 Control your kit

  You will be cramped, so keep your kit packed unless you need it. Don’t lose your gloves or hat.

  2 Keep clothes dry

  Dry damp clothing by hanging it in the ceiling of the tent. When the heat is off, take it into your sleeping bag; this includes your boots.

  3 Check your feet

  Your and your buddy should help each other to do this. Powder them and put on dry socks. If your feet are cold, rub them or, even better, warm them in your buddy’s armpits! If they are seriously cold, don’t rub them; just use the armpit method.

  The seven-man tentgroup

  Everyone’s feet face the door and the cook sleeps next to the stove. If you are operating a sentry stag, make sure the stag list is written so that the sentry wakes up the person who sleeps next to him, which means sentries do not have to trample over people looking for the next man on the stag list.

  Striking your tent or tentsheet

  This is not difficult, but you must get it down to a fine art; you’ll get cold if you find yourself standing around. Work out how long it takes you; this is your “pull pole” time. It should be around 15 minutes when properly practised. This will help you make plans to go straight from the tent to work that keeps you warm.

  Brush off ice and snow before packing away or you will be carrying unnecessary weight and it will take you longer to put the shelter up again.

  Layout of the eight-man tentgroup

  A – Urinal

  This has brushwood in the bottom as a night marker

  B – Door and cold hole

  The door can be on any seam

  C – Weapons

  are left outside because, if they become warm, snow will melt on them and will freeze when they go outside again. They are stored in numerical order so that their owners can find them easily. However, from a security point of view, keep one weapon inside the tent for instant use; keep it free from snow.

  D – Skis

  are stored horizontally in a pit, again in numerical order, with brushwood or poles underneath so that they do not freeze to the snow. The pit will absorb any new snow dur
ing the night, leaving the skis exposed so that you will be able to find them.

  E – Latrine

  This is marked with brushwood and pole to make sure it can be found after a snowstorm.

  SNOW SHELTERS

  You’ve been separated from your kit, but you’ve got your first-and second-line survival kit with you. It’s a long way to base camp and there’s only just over an hour of light left. A light snow is beginning to fall, and the wind’s come up, but it’s not too bad yet.

  You haven’t got a tent. You’re facing the prospect of a night in the open in worsening conditions. This is an emergency survival situation. Stay calm. Think. You’ve got a number of options, and you’ve practised them all. And best of all, you’ve got your rations!

  THE JELPER SLEDGE AND GPMG PULK

  The Jelper Sledge is the equivalent of the stretcher. It is the Arctic method of casualty evacuation, although it is also used for carrying light loads. The central sheet has an idiot’s guide on how to make up the Jelper Sledge from ordinary skis and ski poles and the kit. It is designed to use one man’s ski kit in its construction, for obvious reasons.

  A specialist pulk is available for the GPMG in the sustained-fire role and enables the weapon and the huge quantities of ammunition it requires to be pulled into position and deployed at speed. You can fire off the pulk.

  Shelters made of snow

  The simplest way of building a shelter is to use snow. You can make a snow grave, a snow hole or an igloo; all three are better than a tent. Make sure the entrance is lower than the sleeping bench; this will trap the warm air in the living space near the ceiling. Even a burning candle will keep the temperature at about 0°C.

  Always smooth off the ceiling to prevent dripping. This, though, will make the shelter airtight, which can lead to lack of oxygen especially if you are using a cooker, so punch a ventilation hole using a ski stick.

  Keep a shovel in the shelter to dig yourself out if it blizzards or if the cave collapses; if the temperature is above freezing the snow conditions will not be quite right and the roof may start to fall in. For this reason, don’t practise building snow shelters unless it’s below freezing point.