Greenland Sirius Patrol food
Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2013 2:32 pm
Great article on Sirius Patrol (which is probably the most extreme kind of military service in the world):
http://ftp.rta.nato.int/public//PubFull ... 042-09.pdf
Below are best parts on food.
"The patrolled coastline thus expands to about 40.000 km. The weather during winter is a harsh Arctic climate with frequent storms up to around 60 knots, blowing snow, and air temperatures down to - 50°C. Each dog team consists of 2 men and 10 dogs, using a travelling technique that has been adopted but modified from the original Eskimo dog sledge technique. In summertime depots of provisions and necessary reserve equipment have been placed along the coast by air or by boat as far north as the ice permits. In the area smaller huts have been erected not so much for the benefice of the men, but to protect the depots from the frequent visits by the polar bears, who does not recognise and respect the logo of the Danish Government.
[...]
The daily routine during the sledge voyages follows a fixed pattern, each sledge team make s its own adjustments, but these are seldom changed when first established. The ringing of the alarm clock wakes the one responsible for lighting the stove for melting snow. Breakfast consisting normally of oat meal with milk and tea or coffee. Melting of extra water for filling the thermos bottles with fluid for the whole day. Then breaking camp. Loading the sledge (each sledge carries around 400 kg of equipment, inclusive of extra (emergency) rations for men and dogs for 10 days). During the travel stops are made when necessary, either for rest or for fighting or rearranging the dogs who have their own appreciation of how and with whom they want to spend their day. During the day small meals will be taken, often consisting of raisins, chocolate etc. When the goal has been reached, the dogs are freed from their harnesses and for a short time are allowed to wander freely about - they know they will not be fed before they are back at their specific place in the chain. The tent is risen, snow is melted for the daily heavy meal. Radio communication with base is established, but not many unnecessary words are spoken, batteries should last the whole journey, and everybody knows that to o long correspondence s may mean , that power for transmission has to been produced by cranking the dynamo, which is no fun. This is the time for talk, at an outdoor temperature of -45° it is difficult to talk Sleep comes quickly. Personal hygiene is carried out in the evening. It hurts to meet the cold with fresh washed skin.
[...]
Food is one of the soldier's best rewards. This has always be recognised by the military leaders. Bad or lacking food has been the cause of most mutinies in the navies. The military history is full of examples of the deleterious effect of faulty supplies. The provision of good and plenty food is one of the most important parts of the planning for any isolated group that has to carry out a task in an isolated environment. It should be recognised that every individual has his favourite tastes. These can of course not all be met, but the food should be thus composed that it gives amble possibilities for individual variation. A package of different spices may be the factor that changes that for caloric reasons necessary pemmican into a endurable and even palatable and varied meal. Food is not only calories (joules or whatever). For a person that endures fatigue, cold, uncertainty, fright or perhaps even pain food is the daily reward. It should be sufficient in energy content and at the same time varied. Whenever possible the men should themselves be encouraged to participate in the selection of their food under the supervision of someone who can make the necessary corrections to ensure its sufficiency.
The recommended composition of U.S. military food is a caloric distribution of: 60-65% as Carbohydrates, 12-15 as proteins and 20-25 % as fat (+ vitamins, minerals etc.). The caloric distribution in the Danish rations for the sledge patrol is: carbohydrates 17%, protein 28% and fat 55%. This is the basic composition when operating at temperatures around -40 to -50° C. At higher temperatures the fat content is diminished and replaced by carbohydrates. In the cold experience has shown that the body besides an increased caloric input demands a very high fat intake (2). Some may speak of a craving for fat. Butter and ingredients with a very high fat content is used on everything. The traditional arctic food ration of Pemmican has a very high fat content, and the regard for this non-tasting high caloric foodstuff increases with the length of the journey - but even Pemmican needs to be accompanied by some other kind of food to relieve from the dietary boredom that is the complaint of so many expeditions. Besides it should not be forgotten, that the caloric value of fat is twice that of protein and carbohydrates and thus provides the highest caloric value for a given weight.
Food composition and especially enhancement of physical performance by dietary means has had a high research priority (6). From the Danish experiences some of the debates on the optimal caloric composition of food seem to more to reflect the public debate on the influence of diet on general health than the basic needs for getting the soldier sufficient nourishment. For patrols operating for prolonged periods in extreme cold the caloric demand is very high. For a patrol of months duration food must be adequate if the soldier shall meet the demands. Dog sledging is hard work. When the environmental temperature drops below -40° C the experience is that food requirements changes. At lower temperatures the caloric intake is high, corresponding to the hard work and is around 7.000 Cals per day. Weight determinations before and after a sledge journey show that most individuals keep their weight constant.
But when it gets colder only fat can meet the demands, and food intake rises toward 10.000 Cals per day. As a patrol man said: "at normal temperatures (i.e. around -30 °C) we are hungry, and eat accordingly - below 40 ° we guzzle our food. I can eat butter directly out of the tin. We eat everything with a lot of sugar". The same experiences are known from many of the earlier Arctic expeditions, where one had to live on hunting. Protein might even be abundant, but the lack of fat was the determining factor. On the 2.Thule expedition one of the members even committed suicide and in his last letter to his family gave the reason that he could not live on only on rabbit meat -they were only four days from the end of their journey.
The renowned Arctic Explorer Wilhjalmur Stefansson(3) wrote a whole book on the role of fat (pemmican) in the Arctic food. Eskimos regard the traditional fatty food not only as a delicatessen, but as a basic requirement. The composition of the Danish Pemmican (LØVE-PEMMICAN) is given in Annex A."
http://ftp.rta.nato.int/public//PubFull ... 042-09.pdf
Below are best parts on food.
"The patrolled coastline thus expands to about 40.000 km. The weather during winter is a harsh Arctic climate with frequent storms up to around 60 knots, blowing snow, and air temperatures down to - 50°C. Each dog team consists of 2 men and 10 dogs, using a travelling technique that has been adopted but modified from the original Eskimo dog sledge technique. In summertime depots of provisions and necessary reserve equipment have been placed along the coast by air or by boat as far north as the ice permits. In the area smaller huts have been erected not so much for the benefice of the men, but to protect the depots from the frequent visits by the polar bears, who does not recognise and respect the logo of the Danish Government.
[...]
The daily routine during the sledge voyages follows a fixed pattern, each sledge team make s its own adjustments, but these are seldom changed when first established. The ringing of the alarm clock wakes the one responsible for lighting the stove for melting snow. Breakfast consisting normally of oat meal with milk and tea or coffee. Melting of extra water for filling the thermos bottles with fluid for the whole day. Then breaking camp. Loading the sledge (each sledge carries around 400 kg of equipment, inclusive of extra (emergency) rations for men and dogs for 10 days). During the travel stops are made when necessary, either for rest or for fighting or rearranging the dogs who have their own appreciation of how and with whom they want to spend their day. During the day small meals will be taken, often consisting of raisins, chocolate etc. When the goal has been reached, the dogs are freed from their harnesses and for a short time are allowed to wander freely about - they know they will not be fed before they are back at their specific place in the chain. The tent is risen, snow is melted for the daily heavy meal. Radio communication with base is established, but not many unnecessary words are spoken, batteries should last the whole journey, and everybody knows that to o long correspondence s may mean , that power for transmission has to been produced by cranking the dynamo, which is no fun. This is the time for talk, at an outdoor temperature of -45° it is difficult to talk Sleep comes quickly. Personal hygiene is carried out in the evening. It hurts to meet the cold with fresh washed skin.
[...]
Food is one of the soldier's best rewards. This has always be recognised by the military leaders. Bad or lacking food has been the cause of most mutinies in the navies. The military history is full of examples of the deleterious effect of faulty supplies. The provision of good and plenty food is one of the most important parts of the planning for any isolated group that has to carry out a task in an isolated environment. It should be recognised that every individual has his favourite tastes. These can of course not all be met, but the food should be thus composed that it gives amble possibilities for individual variation. A package of different spices may be the factor that changes that for caloric reasons necessary pemmican into a endurable and even palatable and varied meal. Food is not only calories (joules or whatever). For a person that endures fatigue, cold, uncertainty, fright or perhaps even pain food is the daily reward. It should be sufficient in energy content and at the same time varied. Whenever possible the men should themselves be encouraged to participate in the selection of their food under the supervision of someone who can make the necessary corrections to ensure its sufficiency.
The recommended composition of U.S. military food is a caloric distribution of: 60-65% as Carbohydrates, 12-15 as proteins and 20-25 % as fat (+ vitamins, minerals etc.). The caloric distribution in the Danish rations for the sledge patrol is: carbohydrates 17%, protein 28% and fat 55%. This is the basic composition when operating at temperatures around -40 to -50° C. At higher temperatures the fat content is diminished and replaced by carbohydrates. In the cold experience has shown that the body besides an increased caloric input demands a very high fat intake (2). Some may speak of a craving for fat. Butter and ingredients with a very high fat content is used on everything. The traditional arctic food ration of Pemmican has a very high fat content, and the regard for this non-tasting high caloric foodstuff increases with the length of the journey - but even Pemmican needs to be accompanied by some other kind of food to relieve from the dietary boredom that is the complaint of so many expeditions. Besides it should not be forgotten, that the caloric value of fat is twice that of protein and carbohydrates and thus provides the highest caloric value for a given weight.
Food composition and especially enhancement of physical performance by dietary means has had a high research priority (6). From the Danish experiences some of the debates on the optimal caloric composition of food seem to more to reflect the public debate on the influence of diet on general health than the basic needs for getting the soldier sufficient nourishment. For patrols operating for prolonged periods in extreme cold the caloric demand is very high. For a patrol of months duration food must be adequate if the soldier shall meet the demands. Dog sledging is hard work. When the environmental temperature drops below -40° C the experience is that food requirements changes. At lower temperatures the caloric intake is high, corresponding to the hard work and is around 7.000 Cals per day. Weight determinations before and after a sledge journey show that most individuals keep their weight constant.
But when it gets colder only fat can meet the demands, and food intake rises toward 10.000 Cals per day. As a patrol man said: "at normal temperatures (i.e. around -30 °C) we are hungry, and eat accordingly - below 40 ° we guzzle our food. I can eat butter directly out of the tin. We eat everything with a lot of sugar". The same experiences are known from many of the earlier Arctic expeditions, where one had to live on hunting. Protein might even be abundant, but the lack of fat was the determining factor. On the 2.Thule expedition one of the members even committed suicide and in his last letter to his family gave the reason that he could not live on only on rabbit meat -they were only four days from the end of their journey.
The renowned Arctic Explorer Wilhjalmur Stefansson(3) wrote a whole book on the role of fat (pemmican) in the Arctic food. Eskimos regard the traditional fatty food not only as a delicatessen, but as a basic requirement. The composition of the Danish Pemmican (LØVE-PEMMICAN) is given in Annex A."
