 The winter battleground of the subarctic, occasional forests of evergreen, plenty of snow, and temperatures that hover below zero. For poorly trained men, such terrain could be a dead end to disaster. But the obstacles of bivouacking are no more formidable here than they are anywhere else when a man has first rate U.S. Army equipment and knows how to use it. When preparing to bivouack, before a man takes off from his base camp, he checks his personal equipment. A warm sleeping bag. After a hard day in the open, it's something a man really appreciates. A feather-stuffed quilt with its water-repellent case fits into a carrying bag which can be packed at the bottom of a man's rucksack. A sleeping pad. When blown up, it forms an air mattress, and of course there's the score of small items that a man carries in his pockets and on his belt. A rucksack is the normal arctic pack. Medium weight loads can be carried a lot easier in a rucksack than in an ordinary pack. Most of the weight is distributed on the hips, giving the low center of gravity necessary for skiing. By keeping the pack from wrapping snuggly against a man's back, the frame allows a circulation of air that reduces the perspiration that collects. Chapstick to keep a man's lips from chapping in the dry cold wind. Sunburn preventive cream. Goggles. On a clear bright day, one hour on snow or ice may be enough to cause snow blindness. A waterproof matchbox. An emergency reserve to be saved for the time when perhaps ordinary matches or lighters may fail. Fire starter. A candle for heat and light to be put in a pocket later. An emergency thong for lashing packs and repairing ski straps and snowshoes. The hook on the belt strap is useful for carrying miscellaneous items that a man may not care to carry in his pocket. Like the stiff mountain brush that he uses for brushing the snow off clothing and equipment, and possibly his spoon. A knife and fork, of course, and a couple of sticks of ski wax. A soldier in the subarctic travels light. Heavier and bulky items are hauled in the squad's 200 pound capacity sled. The boat-like sled is made of plastic. It has a canvas cover and lashing rings and ropes for protecting and securing the load. It's important to properly distribute the weight. The 10-man arctic tent goes on the bottom. Another heavy item, the five-gallon gasoline can, fits conveniently to the rear of the tent. Rations in the Yukon stove go up front, along with a pair of one-burner cooking stoves. A pair of mountain cook sets and a pressure cooker. A loaded sled like this can be dragged by soldiers on skis and sometimes it has to be. But ordinarily, if there's any substantial distance involved, sleds are either hauled by tracked vehicle or delivered by air. Carefully covered with the canvas that is folded and tucked to keep out snow and moisture, the cargo is latched down from front to rear with stout nylon cord. Everyday group work tools, such as a saw, a machete and an axe. Along with 50 feet of light malleable wire, are tied in on the top of the canvas where they will be handy whenever they're needed. When operations complete, the platoon moves out. Bivwaks are planned in advance. Before leaving the base, the platoon leader usually has decided the distance that his unit should attempt to cover in a day. And by checking maps, he has selected likely terrain that should be suitable for defense. A bivwak must be located tactically in accordance with principles of security and defense. And the site that is chosen must be large enough to contain the entire unit. Evergreen forests are decidedly superior to open country, and it's worth making a special effort to be able to take advantage of all that they have to offer. Advantages like firewood, unlimited boughs for insulation, protection against weather with an umbrella against snowfall, a windbreak from the snowblown cold, and of course effective natural camouflage against enemy air and ground observation. Choose your site in the thickest part and enter from a point where your trail can be camouflaged or easily hidden by shadows. If there were a stream nearby, that would be good too, but you can't always arrange it to have everything. This location fills the bill. Security. Ski patrols and an all-around perimeter defense are quickly established. If you're in an advanced party and traveling fast and light, setting up camp may mean building yourself a lean-to shelter. In a clear spot of ground between a couple of trees, tamp down the snow. Lash up a cross log five or six feet above the ground and lean a row of stringers up against it. Making a good solid job of the corner lashings is rather important. A unit of well-trained soldiers can put one of these up in shorter time than you'd think. In a site like this where you're lucky enough to have plenty of evergreens, every scrap of every cut tree serves a useful purpose. The boughs that are used for the roof are laced into the supporting stringers and woven in with each other so that they will hold in place. The short branches are spread out on the ground to make an insulating mattress-like floor. Pointed stump ends are tucked in underneath the softer tip portions. When the tactical situation permits, build a long log fire, preferably backed up with a reflector wall. An air mattress isn't a must, but it's a convenience. When boughs have been spread on the floor, something has to be laid down under the inflated mattress to protect it from punctures. The outer parka is spread out over the top like a mattress cover. The warmth that it can provide is not going to be wasted. Now the sleeping bag itself is spread out on top of the outer parka and the bag is opened partway up. The mountain brush is unhooked and plays where it will be handy. Such things are left inside the bag so they won't get lost and keep your pants pockets buttoned. Your rucksack folds up under the head end of the air mattress. When the tactical situation makes it reasonable to take your clothes off, there's a system for getting into your bag with minimum confusion. First, you loosen your belt. Boots come off one at a time, left foot first. As soon as one is off, the foot goes down into the bag. Now the right foot. Wriggling out of your trousers is the next trick to go to work on. The trousers are folded up. Then they're put back inside where they'll go underneath the knees. Now the socks come off. They're placed next to the body, near the hip, where they'll be warm and perhaps dry out a bit. Your intermediate jacket is placed under the shoulders. Now comes the shirt. You take it off and fold it up so that you can use it for a pillow. On the home stretch now, you grasp the hood of the bag cross-handed and pull it over your head. Get well down in. And while one hand holds the zipper track together at the top, the other closes the zipper. And here you have what a subarctic camp looks like when men haven't got a tent. But a setup like this is the exception. Ordinarily, units travel with their squad tents. When planning the arrangement of the tent site, care is taken so that tents will be a full 60 yards apart to lessen their vulnerability to shell and mortar fire. The motorized vehicles with the cargo sleds follow close in the heels of the advanced party. The end of the trail does not mean any loitering halt or slackening in activity. Men are sweating. And it's the exercise of the forward force that has been helping keep them warm. Until there is shelter in a fire, the exertion of pitching camp will help protect you from getting chilled. Construction teams are organized by squads. And the squad leader points out the sub area that has been allotted to his unit and decides where the shelter will be erected. The leader explains the restrictions that will be enforced concerning bow cutting, the use of water supply, and the handling of camp sanitation. Work details are assigned and one or two men are selected to clear the area. The floor of any shelter, of course, will want to be clear of broken branches and twigs and free of any jagged obstructions like protruding stumps. The deeper the snow, the better. And the snow is not cleared away from a campsite. It is packed down firmly so that it may act as a carpet of heat insulation. Bare ground gets considerably colder than snow. A man is sent to help construct the platoon latrine. Another goes after water for cooking and drinking. Whenever the tactical situation permits, a fire is started up immediately upon arrival so that a pot of tea or coffee can be set to brew. The rest of the men in the squad take over the assignment of setting up camp and erecting the tent. The 10 man tent, weighing 91 pounds, accommodates the personnel of one rifle squad or artillery section. With the site having been cleaned up and made ready, the hexagonal shaped tent can be unrolled immediately. Two men grab the upper corners of the front wall and stretch the wall out tight in the position that it will be in when the tent has been permanently erected. While the corner pegs are being forced into place, the setter pole is assembled and its sections are locked into place. Pounding's not necessary. After pegs have set a few minutes in tamped snow, they'll hold firm. The tent has been positioned so that its double zippered front door faces obliquely to the prevailing wind. The setter pole is made of lightweight magnesium and when it has been fully extended, it is nine feet long. To keep it from sinking down into the packed snow, take any flat surface, such as a box top and slip it under the base. While the man on the inside continues to hold the center pole in an upright position, the back end of the tent is stretched out taut and the remaining two corner pegs are positioned. If this was being set up for an aid station, a command post or other operational headquarters, by using the zippered rear door, it would be possible to join on to a second tent so as to form one long shelter. The two front corners and the two rear corners have now been taken care of. And since this is a hexagonal or six-sided tent, there are additional side corners that have to be pulled taut and anchored. Now back again to the front end of the tent. The yellow ropes extending out from the upper corners must be stretched out and pegged down. The other front corner. Notice how the ropes are extended in the same direction as the seams to which they are anchored. The door rope may be tied to a tree, or if there isn't a convenient tree, you can fasten a clove hitch around a ski or a cut pole and secure the running end to a peg in the ground. While both ski and tree can be used, the ski will not be utilized when trees are available in the area. Finally, the white ropes are secured. When completed, the tent should be tied in firm and should not flap loosely about in the wind. With the sled unloaded, the shelter is ready to move into, except that it's going to need to be heated. It's the Yukon stove here that takes care of the heating problem. Yukon stoves are designed so they can burn both wood and gasoline. Either way, they work fine and all necessary fixtures and tools come packed inside. Everything in good order? Gasoline burner assembly, fuel can adapter, fuel hose with drip deflector, spark arrestor and chimney guideline rope, and the sections of nesting stove pipe. With the base section of pipe fitted in place, it serves as a leg to support the rear of the fire box. The spark arrestor that fits on top of the chimney is a mighty important fixture. By deflecting the draft and screening the smoke, it reduces the hazard of sparks that can burn holes in the roof of your tent and under sun circumstances, might pinpoint your location to enemy observation. The guidelines that help hold the stack up can be mighty useful when it's windy. This time, the stoves being assembled for burning gasoline. That's the burner, of course, that's being fitted into place. The fuel can adapter hose is connected to the fuel valve. Connections must be tight, but there's a definite limit to the strain that they can stand. If threads become damaged and they damage easily, it's apt to cause a messy little fuel leak. The fuel valve should be closed for the time being. This is another thread that must be treated with some care and consideration. The inverted fuel can has a petcock and is tilted corner wise so that as it empties, the last of its contents will drain into the feed line. After opening the petcock on the fuel can outside, examine the assembly for any signs of leaks. Open the stove door wide and check for any signs of leaks on the inside. Keeping your face out of line of the flash that may occur, hold a match or a lighted paper under the burner and open the valve by turning it counterclockwise about half a turn. Then slowly close the door and slide the draft inlet so that it will be closed. Like the thermostat in a family living room, the proper adjustment for this fuel valve may be highly controversial. The final unpopular decision will probably be made by the man with the highest rank. To stop the burner, the valve is firmly but not forcefully closed. When gasoline is scarce and there are times when it gets in short supply, a Yukon stove is also a first rate wood burner. There's a grate that is part of the stove assembly and the fire is laid on this grate. The spark arrester outside on the chimney has already been checked and adjusted for use with wood. And when the fire is catching in good shape, the door is closed and its draft slots are open. As for a latrine, a slit trench is built to accommodate the occupants of several tents. The tree discipline will be strict. Where frozen soil makes it impossible to dig into the ground, wind-blown pollution is common and snow may have to be thawed for drinking water. A typical latrine arrangement is set up between a couple of trees. A trench has been dug down through the snow as deeply as possible. And above, there's a stout horizontal pole for a seat and a second pole to serve as a back rest. For deluxe accommodations, a windbreak of boughs can be constructed at the rear. And the wash faucet? Well, it may have to be a clean handful of snow. When a bivouac is planned for any duration, a tent latrine may be set up utilizing old ration boxes as catch basins. If gasoline is plentiful, burning is the best means of disposing of the tree waste and garbage. When burning is out of the question, such treasure can be buried in snow pits and the site marks for the protection of other troops who may follow. A useful arrangement that's easy to construct in country where timber is everywhere for the taking is a rack for the sled, skis, equipment and weapons to keep them out of the snow and in good working condition. And when snow is piled up around the base of the tent, it stays warmer and is more secure from the wind. Because boughs are everywhere available, a thick carpet of them is spread out for floor insulation. Equipment is arranged for convenience and utility of space. Rucksacks are placed against the wall where each man sleeps and the sleeping bags that are sometimes spread out like this from the center pole like the spokes of a wheel are opened in air. A cup of hot coffee begins with a number of cups of snow and it's a slow process. You have to melt down a fair amount of the stuff to get enough to make a pot of boiling water. Tent group cooking is generally SOP and to turn out the hardy hot meals that men in the subarctic need and want, everyone pitches in and helps with the job he can do best, whether it's cheap can opener or cheap cook. The Yukon stove is the old standby and there's always the cook stove if more burner space is needed. About done, is it, Chef? Using squares of clean cardboard for plates cuts down on the dish washing chore in country where hot water is hard to come by. After supper, you sort of catch up with yourself. Big game country, prepare for the big game. Gin, rummy. Washing with snow, you get used to it. No, this isn't snow and up here where whiskers grow icicles. Shaving's important. Using drying lines. Clothes get damp by the end of the day and getting into wet clothes every morning you'd make yourself sick. The higher up you hang them, the faster they dry. Whenever the tactical situation permits, you make yourself as comfortable as you can because a night may come when everything may be far different. And that's why you're a soldier and that's why you're stationed where you are. And a North country soldier, confident in his equipment and secure in his training will meet such a test in his stride.