Man Living in the Arctic; Proceedings of a Conference, Quartermaster Research and Engineering Center, Natick, Massachusetts, 1, 2 December 1960 (1961)

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Proceedings of the Conference on MAN LIVING IN THE ARCTIC SESSION No. 1 THEME: THE ARCTIC PAUL A. SlPLE, presiding Chairman Siple: Ladies and gentlemen it is with pleasure that I welcome you to this conference on "Man Living in the Arctic," jointly sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences—National Research Council Advisory Board on Quartermaster Research and Develop- ment, The Arctic Institute of North America, and the United States Army Quartermaster Corps. The address of welcome will be given by Brig. General Merrill L. Tribe, Commanding General, Quartermaster Research and Engineering Command. ADDRESS OF WELCOME BRIGADIER GENERAL MERRILL L. TRIBE Commanding General Quartermaster Research and Engineering Command Natick, Massachusetts I am not only pleased but delighted to welcome you to this confer- ence on "Man Living in the Arctic." I am especially happy to welcome so many visitors and conferees from Canada. At a conference such as this one, we have the opportunity to see old friends and to make new ones. Most important, however, is our opportunity to exchange ideas; and it is from this free interchange of ideas that we derive the greatest and most lasting benefits of such a conference. We are continuously progressing in knowledge and techniques for coping with cold climate living, building upon work done and out- lined by keen and far-sighted people such as the late Sir Hubert Wilkins. Those of us at Natick are intensely proud to be part of the Army Research and Development effort. We have a singular purpose; namely, to do whatever is necessary to better all facets of the life of the combat soldier on the field of battle. While many incidental bene- fits may accrue as a result of our work here, our sole objective is to insure that the combat soldier is an efficient, effective fighting man. From today's newspapers and newscasts one can easily be led to believe that the future of the world is most uncertain. Though there is much uncertainty, it is my firm conviction that we are living at a

magnificent time in history. I believe that for us and for our children the future has never held more promise. I believe that the people of this country and our allies are keen and courageous and have the wisdom to do those things which can and will accomplish the ideals of free men. The future presents us with the greatest challenge ever, and we in the research and development field are keenly aware of the need to meet it. We are pleased that this conference is a joint effort by the National Academy of Sciences—National Research Council Advisory Board on Quartermaster Research and Development as well the The Arctic Institute of North America. It is in groups such as these that the objectives of free men will be accomplished. At this time it is my pleasure to introduce to you The Quarter- master General, Major General Andrew T. McNamara. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF LOGISTICS IN THE ARCTIC MAJOR GENERAL ANDREW T. MCNAMARA The Quartermaster General Department of the Army Washington, D. C. Any conference such as ours here today involves a tremendous amount of planning and preparation. One of the toughest jobs is establishing an orderly and comprehensive agenda that covers all aspects of the subjcet and yet does not unduly restrict any indi- vidual speaker. Since I did not personally participate in the detailed development of our program, I am free to compliment all concerned on a master- ful job. If everything comes off as scheduled, this is likely to be the most worth-while and productive meeting of its kind ever held. As a matter of fact, the only touch of confusion I noted throughout the entire evolution of our agenda was over the topic assigned The Quartermaster General. The words always remained the same, but somehow the sequence wouldn't stay put. When General Tribe first discussed my taking part in this confer- ence, he suggested I speak on "The Significance of Logistics in the Arctic." The next time the subject came up, it had been changed to "The Significance of the Arctic in Logistics." When the first draft of the official program reached my office, I was listed to talk on "The Logistical Significance of the Arctic." The last letter I received just before I left Washington put it back to "The Significance of Logistics in the Arctic." The reason for this apparent confusion, of course, is that all these approaches to the subject are valid and, in fact, imperative. Certainly, we must consider the importance of the Arctic in any over-all dis- cussion of logistics. We must also consider supplies and equipment

and support services—what we in the military call logistics—in any discussion of operations in the Arctic. For the purposes of this conference, I think we can dispense with a detailed analysis of why the Arctic is important to our national security. Your presence here today bespeaks your appreciation of that fact. The late General "Hap" Arnold, who commanded the Army Air Force in World War II, said that if World War III ever came, its strategic center would be the North Pole. His prophetic insight has been borne out by the way the Arctic has evolved during these inter- vening years from a fringe area in our defense concept to a major line of defense. From the military standpoint, the question is not any longer: "Are we going to set up shop in the Arctic?" We already have. The problem now is: "How can we continue to do it most effi- ciently and effectively?" Those of you who knew the Arctic in the days of the American Pioneers of Arctic Exploration, whom we are honoring in this confer- ence, may find the Arctic difficult to recognize today. The Arctic is no longer thought of as a mysterious, hostile area. Every year increasing numbers of Americans, together with our Canadian friends, are learn- ing to live in the Arctic and to feel at home there. Today more than a hundred thousand passengers a year fly over the polar route between Europe and North America. If you like, you can fly your own plane to the north country as our Quartermaster consultant Dr. Terris Moore did merely for a summer jaunt, flying up to the north of Ellesmere Island, Northwest Greenland and back by way of Alaska. For successful existence in the Arctic, a steadfast respect for its peculiar characteristics is essential. In my opinion, the purpose of our gathering here this week is to understand those characteristics more clearly and to see how we can better adjust to them. Before I outline some of the basic problems the Army faces in living and operating in the Arctic, I would like to explain why the Quarter- master Corps is particularly concerned with this subject. The ironic truth is that the Quartermaster Corps, which provides such routine items as food, clothing, and field shelter, is the most taken-for-granted technical service in the Army. Yet when all else fails in the field, the Quartermaster Corps is the service the soldier falls back on as his court of last resort. Nowhere is this truer than in the Arctic. If there is no normal water supply, it is up to the Quartermaster Corps to pro- vide drinkable water with the use of purification tablets. If a lighting system does not work, the Quartermaster Corps is expected to have lamps or candles available. When power heating gives out the Quar- termaster Corps must have stoves in assorted sizes. When shelter is not available the Quartermaster Corps must provide tents. If there is no vehicular transportation, the Quartermaster Corps is expected to provide sleds, skis, snow shoes, and packboards so that troops and supplies can get through. If there is no chaplain available to conduct the burial service, an officer of the Quartermaster Corps assumes the

responsibility. In other words, when the going gets rough the Quarter- master Corps must take care of the troops in the Arctic as well as in the other parts of the world. The Quartermaster Corps must be ready to meet all the foregoing needs. Supplies and equipment have always been of prime importance in any pattern of human life in the Arctic. The aborigine was self- sufficient from local resources, getting his food largely from the ocean or from the hunt, obtaining his transportation from his dogs, and making his shelter from the snow when necessary. The early explorer with great effort had a year's supplies brought up by boat, laboriously moved them overland by dog team sled, and cached them on the trail for use on the return trip. Next came the early commercial enterprises like the Hudson's Bay Company, which developed a distinctive but simple supply system for their trading posts with the natives, ex- changing the products of civilization for furs. Finally, we have the pattern our present military services have developed, with our vast and intricate supply system supporting such military endeavors as the DEW line and our other northern military bases. Our future Arctic logistic pattern will be influenced in part by the future economic exploitation of the area and by the extent to which regular commercial and industrial facilities, adaptable to the military in time of emergency, are developed. Today, however, the Arctic must be considered as virgin territory in which the military services must be more self-supporting than anywhere else on earth. Weather and terrain will always partially determine military capa- bilities and the kind of logistic support required in the Arctic. In the past, Arctic and Sub-Arctic environments have prohibited military operations requiring large bodies of troops. Since small forces can be used most effectively in such areas without serious impairment of their striking power or maneuverability, our first concern is the sup- port of these small mobile forces, up to a battle group of around 1,000 men, with the potential capability to support larger forces under special circumstances. There is a tendency to oversimplify the problem of logistic support for combat forces in Arctic and Sub-Arctic areas by saying it is entirely a matter of transportation. While transportation is important there are other critical elements which must also be considered. Logistic operations in the Arctic must be so planned that troops have adequate supplies to fall back on no matter what tactical situa- tion develops, no matter how the weather may change through sudden storms or during the transition periods of spring and autumn, and no matter what distances may be involved. This is no small order. It will require the highest degree of careful planning if it is to be success- fully achieved. The axiom in Arctic logistic planning is that we must get along without anything which is not absolutely needed. Attempting to supply every desirable item may lead to an intolerable aggregate burden on the

logistic system. It can prove as disastrous to provide too much as too little. The determination of what is really needed is the responsibility of the local commander and the supply service. Manpower will probably be the scarcest resource in any Arctic combat situation. Local availability of men is likely to be so limited that human effort, in terms of the expenditure of physical and mental energy, must be conserved at all cost. In short, the basic problem of logistics may well be not supplies and equipment but the lack of people to handle them. Limited manpower makes it imperative that tonnage capacity in the transport system and for replacement and repair be held to an absolute minimum. The equipment with which a man starts a campaign must see him through it. Replacement needs should be obviated by dura- bility and reliability of the initial equipment. Only those weapons or items of equipment which can clearly contribute to victory in combat should be supplied. Everything else should be kept out of the supply system so as not to build up storage of unnecessary items at the base points of combat units. The need to eliminate non-essentials from the supply system is reinforced because there are special items which must be available if troops and equipment are to function in the extreme cold. These spe- cial items must be supplied on a priority basis and include such equip- ment as skis, snow shoes, sleds, ski wax, ice augers, ice saws, spare ski bindings, crampons, tents, tent stoves, and fuel. Where there is a need for such special equipment, the first job of both the local com- mander and his supply unit is to determine what items can be left behind without impairing the combat capability of the unit. Another major point concerned with logistics in the Arctic is aerial delivery of supplies in the event other means of transportation are not available. Equipment or equipment components must fit economically into loading space of big cargo planes and also into smaller planes which may have to do their unloading from water onto an unprepared beach. This "economic fit" requires the utmost care in planning. Because of the uncertainties of weather, the enormous span of the Arctic, and the inevitable separation of combat units, each unit must be capable of independent operations without contact with its normal base of supplies. In effect, many tactical units will have to be self- contained in the field. Now I come to what I feel is the gist of the problem in Arctic operations. In the Arctic the individual soldier comes into his own as the critical element of our combat forces as he does in few if any other areas. However successfully a native or a dedicated explorer may combat the environmental forces of the Arctic and come out on top, we cannot expect the average soldier to do as well unless he has been properly trained and unless he has supply support adequate to meet his essen- tial needs. By training and discipline, the Arctic soldier must be taught to be

self-reliant and resourceful, must be able to operate by himself, and must be prepared to utilize his surroundings to the maximum advan- tage. I do not insist that he be able to shift over on a day's notice to eating the Eskimo's muk-tuk, or blubber, or the lichens from the rocks which some of the early explorers had to resort to for food. But being temporarily cut off from his logistic support should not preclude his ability to function as an effective soldier. Similarly, the unit to which he belongs should be able to man-carry its entire combat gear and supplies, if the situation requires it, and still remain effective. The significance of logistics in the Arctic is that nowhere else on earth is an Army so completely dependent upon its logistics system— not only for its effectiveness as a fighting force but for its very exist- ence as a community of human beings. What are we going to do about logistics in the Arctic? Some of the answers will come out of this conference; but the vast majority, I am sure, will come only through weeks and months and years of determined thought and effort around the planning tables, in our research laboratories, and in our plants and factories. Every major element of the military, just as every major industry and branch of science, has a role to play in this seeking of solutions. Of all the elements of the Army concerned with logistic problems, there is none more directly and specifically responsible than the Army's vast research and development network. If we are to roll back the frontiers of technology and emerge into a brave new world of Arctic logistics, the spearhead of our attack must be our research program. There is no one more intimately acquainted with the Army's cur- rent research and development problems nor more directly responsible for the Army's dynamic new approach to their solution than the man we are privileged and honored to have with us today. He is Lieutenant General Arthur G. Trudeau, Army Chief of Research and Development. Heading one of the largest and most complex military subdivisions in existence, General Trudeau is an outspoken advocate of efficiency, effectiveness, and economy. A formidable opponent of the status quo attitude in research and development, this ex-Vermonter was a guiding figure in Army's recent reorganization of its five-year-old research and development set-up. The purpose of the reorganization is to cut drastically lead- time in hardware development from concept to production—or as he says it: "from womb to boom." His effect on Army's research and development people and machin- ery has already been, and promises in the future to be, significant and far reaching. A West Point graduate, an engineer, a topflight staff officer, and a combat commander who has twice been decorated for gallantry in action, he is uniquely qualified to present the over-all Army picture to this conference.

SIGNIFICANCE OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE ARCTIC LIEUTENANT GENERAL ARTHUR G. TRUDEAU Chief of Research and Development Department of the Army Washington, D. C. I was truly pleased when General McNamara invited me, on behalf of the Quartermaster Research and Engineering Command, to address this conference. While I have been in all of our Arctic test areas at least twice, I have the feeling that for me to come up here to talk to you distinguished "frigid-airs" on the subject of the significance of research and development in the Arctic is—to coin a phrase—like carrying ice cubes to Natick! After all, you are the recognized experts to whom I turn for advice. I regard a situation like this as a charter for me to cover, in gen- eral, our Army Research and Development Program, emphasizing our concepts in the hope of arousing in you that deeply-needed, ever- increasing interest in our problems. In this connection, I know your deliberations here these next two days will give you added insight and will stimulate you further in your efforts to develop and refine the protective devices we so desperately need to do a job in an almost fantastically hostile environment. Certainly, man must press on to dominate the Arctic. This geo- graphical area has long resisted the most heroic attempts of man in ships, sleds, and planes. Historically, thousands of lives have been sacrificed to cold, hunger, and disease in a no-quarter, never-ending battle against nature in one of her most extreme and implacable forms. Today at long last, with modern science and technology literally exploding in all fields, we are developing the means to conquer this beautiful but biting environment. We must conquer it because there are military overtones of great importance. Any map projection but Mercator shows that the Arctic route is the most direct line of attack between the North American continent and the heart of the Eurasian land mass. A strategic fact of such importance will not be neglected by those enemies of the Free World who would use it to their own advantage. It is known that the Communists are expending great energy in learning how to overcome the natural barriers of the arctic and polar regions; and we know the Reds will not hesitate, if need be, to employ their combat forces in this environment. For that reason, our Army must match this growing Soviet capability and continually strive to better it. We dare not be complacent. Our past and present achievements must be recognized clearly for what they are: beginnings, just beginnings. Although we had a brief taste of Arctic operations after World War I in Siberia and northern Russia, our Army activities there really

date back to World War II. During that war we had sizable military forces in Alaska and Greenland and learned from their experiences that the permanently ice-covered Arctic is no military play-pen. In fact, winter combat operations in other areas—Western Europe, the Aleutians, and later in Korea—strongly pointed up the problem that even moderately low temperatures seriously impede the movement and effectiveness of ground forces. Trenchfoot and frostbite were daily terrors to the troops. Even equipment froze to a staggering halt. After World War II we moved to improve our capacity to live and operate under Arctic conditions by establishing both a training and testing facility at Fort Greely, Alaska. During the same early postwar period we collaborated with the Canadian Army in establishing a research, development, and engineering test site at Fort Churchill in far north Manitoba. In the early fifties our Transporation Corps started field testing equipment in Greenland. The responsibility for coordinating all Greenland tests later passed to the Corps of Engi- neers, now assigned primary responsibility for Arctic construction as well as field experimentation in the arctic and polar regions. We of Army Research and Development have continued to support an Arctic Program at Fort Greely and Fort Churchill and a Polar Program at Camp Tuto in Greenland and out on the icecap. At these sites with long periods of continuous cold, our test schedules worked out many months in advance are not upset by the effects of "unusual winter thaw." Next month the Army will take over most of the Air Force facilities at Ladd Field in Alaska. We shall start transferring to Alaska some of our testing previously based at Fort Churchill. We plan gradually to extend our quest for knowledge to other parts of the Arctic in Alaska, including the Arctic Basin itself. We have already entered into a contract with The Arctic Institute of North America to analyze the problems which the Army anticipates in operating on the polar pack ice. Army research and development efforts are focused primarily on the means for ground forces to win on any future battlefield. Our forces must have the means to move, shoot, and communicate concur- rently any time, any place, and under any conditions. Our Army must have the finest firepower, mobility, and communications for its forces wherever they fight—valley, plain, mountain, desert, swamp, jungle, or in frozen polar wastes. It is with this sense of mission that the Army's current research and development program supports exten- sive investigations in basic research as well as in applied research and development. The scope of our program is as broad as man's imagination, for our primary interest is in the soldier and what it takes to sustain him in any hostile environment. The Army's efforts in basic research, to penetrate the ever-shifting boundaries of science, are extensive. We devote about 50 million dol- lars per year to this effort, expended through more than 550 labora- 8

tories, universities, and industries; 80 Army and other governmental installations; and two overseas research offices—one in Frankfurt, Germany and the other in Tokyo, Japan. The Army is particularly aware of the necessity for basic research and will continue to stress it to the limit of available funding. Basic research is the key to future developments and to the realization of radically new development concepts and designs. One of our most important basic areas is cold regions research. Here, the Quartermaster Corps, the Corps of Engineers, and other Army technical services are conducting a program to determine the requirements for successful arctic and polar operations. The emphasis is placed on meteorology, on physiological and psychological problems associated with small unit operations, and on the physical properties of snow, ice, and frozen ground. An interesting part of this investiga- tion is in Greenland, where the concept of living, working, and travel- ing beneath the snow surface is now being studied. The Army's approach to research and development in Greenland has been unique. We have not only supported basic research there, but we have been successful in attracting many outstanding scientists to take advantage of this opportunity to study the region. In return, we have derived rich dividends. We have improved our equipment and techniques for living in the arctic and polar regions and have con- ceived many useful concepts for possible military application. The scientists attracted to Greenland were challenged by the characteris- tics and behavior of snow, ice, and permafrost. In time they learned to work with these phenomena and to develop various means of handling them. As a result, we now are able to live beneath the snow, to fly from its surface, to find our way over it. I know you all are acquainted with Camp Century, the city under the ice, a product of this scientific endeavor. Although Camp Century of today is an experiment in living on the Greenland Icecap, it may well be the prototype of actual defense posts in the future. I had the good fortune to visit Greenland and Camp Century in October and would like to share with you some thoughts about two interesting developments now taking place there. One is the testing of a nuclear reactor presently furnishing about 1600 kw of electricity and over a million Btu of heat per hour to this research city under the snow. This reactor is performing exceedingly well and is proving that military installations in remote, relatively inaccessible locations can be freed from continual fuel supply. Con- sider, if you will, the important promise nuclear energy holds for Arctic operations. The second is the deep drilling technique our Greenland glaciolo- gists are using. Through funds supplied by the National Science Foundation, our Snow, Ice, Permafrost Research Engineering organ- ization developed a thermal drill which will be capable of penetrating the thickest portion of the icecap. This drill, while I was there, was

reaching a depth of several hundred feet and extracting core samples which, by the best estimation, were dated as formed in about the year 1066, when William the Conqueror landed in England. This is only the beginning. With this drill we hope to reach depths in the ice of over 10,000 feet and by isotopic dating of the cores and possibly pollen analysis learn more about the climatic changes over the ages. At the bottom of the icecap will be other data, unmarred by the elements and civilization, that can provide valuable information about the geological structure of the earth. The implications of this drilling technique are truly impressive to physical and social scientists alike. Army research work in Greenland has already contributed to other national efforts. Not only did the Army work there plan an active role in the International Geophysical Year of 1957-58, but the Navy is now applying many of the under-the-snow construction techniques devel- oped in Greenland to its rebuilding of the Byrd and South Pole Sta- tions in Antarctica. Adoption of these techniques will probably extend the life of the Navy under-snow stations on the polar icecap from an expected three or four years to at least ten years, and, in addition, result in substantial savings in money. Also, the techniques used in the installation of the portable nuclear power reactor at Camp Century are being adopted by the Navy at McMurdo Sound and other stations in Antarctica. Another research area of related interest to the Arctic is materials research. We know that our engineering design prospects are inti- mately bound up with the improvement of existing materials and with the discovery of new materials with greatly enhanced properties under all extremes of temperature. In materials research in plastics, poly- mers, ceramics, and metallurgy, we are working on a variety of cold- weather approaches. I am pleased to report that we are achieving unusually good cold-weather performance with plastics and polymers. Other significant basic research of interest here which our Army is conducting in medicine, chemistry, or thermodynamics are too numer- ous for me to cover in the brief time for this talk. However, what I have covered should indicate that basic research is essential for advancing the knowledge of Arctic living as well as for increasing the operational capability of military forces in cold regions. These advances illustrate, moreover, the kind of basic research effort which is necessary to feed the insatiable appetite of applied research and development. For without new knowledge, without new science, ap- plied research and development is limited to product improvement. Product improvement, important as it is, will not put us out in front where we belong, nor keep us there. I am certain that to this audience I need not emphasize the impor- tance of learning about summer conditions in the Arctic. The tundra, the muskeg, the boulder fields, and the countless swamps, lakes, and ponds provide the greatest barriers to summertime travel in the high Arctic. The ice break-up season poses even worse problems. Also, 10

rugged terrain and electro-magnetic phenomena in some regions inter- fere severely with communications. And the presence of continuous daylight in summer is almost as unique as the long hours of darkness in winter. Environmental research is also important, and we are pushing it forward to the greatest extent possible. Let us now look at the general areas of interest in our applied research and development effort in the classic fields of military en- deavor: firepower, communications, and mobility. All the new equipment soon to be in the hands of troops—whether it be a missile boosting our firepower range or a surveillance drone improving our target acquisition capability—must meet certain low temperature criteria. These criteria require satisfactory operation of equipment at -25°F in mid latitude regions and at —65°F for equip- ment designed for use in polar and arctic regions. Utilization of these temperature extremes has resulted in certain problems. We have found that some new equipment under development will perform in the field under slightly less severe condition than design criteria. Strange as it may seem, many items which perform well in laboratory, engineer- ing, and user tests, including the use of cold chambers for components, have failed in the field to meet specifications. Currently, we are taking steps to correct these deficiencies. Communications and electronics are a most important part of our applied research and development effort. We recognize that a land force cannot navigate on or over any terrain, particularly in the Arctic, without some special means of communication control. Also, missiles cannot be fired effectively without electronic devices to collect target information and to guide the missiles to the target. Here, communication satellites will ultimately provide a reliable and efficient means of spanning the oceans and polar regions for both military and commercial purposes. Just two months ago, the Advance Research Projects Agency (ARPA) in our Defense Department turned over to the U. S. Army the $23 million COURIER and the $174 million ADVENT communi- cation satellite programs. COURIER is the first important satellite communication system to be put through the research and development paces. This delayed- repeater type of active relay system is capable of receiving and trans- mitting in one pass (about a five-minute period) almost 340,000 words or the equivalent of the contents of the Sunday edition of "The New York Times." This amounts to over 1,400 words per second, a tremen- dous increase over any of our present systems. COURIER will con- tribute immeasurably to all future communication systems, civil as well as military. During the next three-year period, it is expected that several COURIER satellites will be launched. Each communications "pack- age" will be developed by the U.S. Army. Indispensable to the success 11

of COURIER, I must add, has been the solar battery. The more than 19,000 solar cells which give the COURIER satellite a cellular appear- ance represent one of the real achievements of our time. Now the satellite communication system offering the most advan- tages, particularly in the Arctic, is the so-called 24-hour satellite that completes one revolution around the earth in the same time period that the point below it on the earth completes one revolution. This system is known as Project ADVENT, designed to position a micro- wave communications relay package 19,300 nautical miles above the earth in a 24-hour orbit. This is truly an ambitious program, which will probably take from five to as many as ten years to complete suc- cessfully. We are well on our way; and when the project has been brought to a successful conclusion, we will have practically a "real- time" global communications capability, something that seemed im- possible a few short years ago. I turn now to mobility in the Arctic. On the ground we are seeking to improve all our surface vehicles. We are working toward the utilization of large wheels and low profile, the utilization of low pressure tires, and the utilization of a family of articulated vehicles such as the RAT, the MUSK-RAT, and the MUSK-CAT. Yet, paradoxically, for better ground or battlefield mobility in the Arctic, we are concentrating on the air! We are working to develop true air vehicles that will fly just above the "nap of the earth," permitting the combat soldier of tomorrow to overcome normal terrain obstacles such as snow, mud, swamps, rivers, and forests. This type of vehicle will have the take-off and landing characteristics of the helicopter coupled with the advantages of the fixed-wing aircraft in forward flight. You have probably seen pictures of some of our flying test beds that look like disks or platforms pro- pelled by unusual power plants. These are the experimental vehicles that promise to give the answer to flying low, fast or slow, and quietly just above the battlefield. Today, we have several research test beds under study. These test beds are only an approach to optimum mobility, not in any sense oper- able military aircraft. Some have wings that tilt, others have ducted fans, and a few use conventional power sources and schemes of flight. We are confident that some of these approaches can be developed into high-performance vertical and short-take-off and -landing aircraft of all sizes, capacities, and ranges to be used for numerous ground sup- port missions. There is one other area with which we are most concerned, and that is the most important factor on any battlefield in any future time— the soldier. In the Army of tomorrow, the soldier will still play the predominant role, regardless of the nature of the conflict. In any war between two nations, I submit to you that men, well-trained and well- led, are still the key to final victory on the decisive battlefield and 12

that a strong Army is a necessary and fundamental part of our national military posture. Despite conflicting theories of strategy, I know of none brash enough to maintain that hostile or contested terri- tory can be taken and controlled by people who are not physically present, even in the Arctic. The soldier on the ground is the man for whom we try not only to develop the finest weapons systems but also the best rations, clothing, shelter and protective devices; for whom we are constantly striving to secure every possible advantage in future combat so that he can perform his vital missions and carry on to victory. An important objective in this respect is to lighten the load the soldier must carry. At this time I would like to congratulate the Quartermaster Corps for its many achievements which have aided immeasurably in improv- ing man's operational capabilities in the Arctic. I refer particularly to the development of improved shelter, clothing, and food. Now, I have given you as much of an insight into the Army Research and Development Program for the Arctic as the clock will allow. All our work is being done to insure the continued defense of our Nation. We view all these contributions to the defensive might of America with pride. Equally important, we know that many of these contributions will be used for the peaceful benefit of mankind. We must never forget for a minute the reason, the underlying cause, for our tremendous military effort. We must not relax our guard nor our efforts to build continually better defensive forces. Today, in this surging era of great change, in this age of seeming grayness and indecision, the development of adequate means to ad- vance the progress and security of this country, as well as the Free World, is well within our capabilities if we but know our strength. It is important to remember that in the fields of science and tech- nology we still have significant advantages over the Communists. We must be more aware of these superiorities and must strive not only to maintain but to extend them. Yours is a field of effort that can do much for our country. Look ahead with more optimism and push Arctic research forward, gentle- men. This is a satisfying and productive service you can render to your country in this era of the cold war. The field is still relatively untouched. While you are considering the possibilities for better utili- zation of these areas, don't fail to consider concurrently the denial of such areas to an enemy. For every ounce of deterrence we build, we need to add a pound of determination. I am confident that as the new year dawns and America restudies her road map to chart a new route there will be a resurgence of those spiritual qualities, bolstered by integrity and initia- tive and by selflessness and sacrifice, that made our nation great. Let us with pride and dauntless courage contribute our humble efforts to this end. The goal of America can be no finer than the soul of America is

and this approaching Christmas Season should be a time for both national and individual contemplation. Time is not on our side unless we use it wisely. Thank you very much. LIMITATIONS TO LIVING IN THE POLAR REGIONS PAUL A. SIPLE Army Research Office Department of the Army Washington, D. C. Our conference on Man Living in the Arctic sets up fundamental goals for our contemplation. We could proceed to discuss the time- honored individual factors which limit so-called normal operations; however, they seem to be so obvious that they need hardly be men- tioned before an audience of this nature. Darkness, cold, vast unpopu- lated areas, wind, snow, ice, crevasses, swampy tundra, taega-forests, over-abundance of water, ice break-up, insects, sparsity of economic opportunities, and high cost of transportation are among the many factors which cause limitations on living. Through ingenuity we have overcome some of these obstacles, but progress is still required in our continued search for improved well-being. What is it we seek toward making the Arctic more livable? Cer- tainly, in the last decade food, clothing, shelter, lighting, power, sani- tation, communications, and mobility have been improved immeasur- ably; yet in all of these items further improvement is desirable. In fact, those people in research and development may have cause for dismay. Each time the standard of living is elevated, the demand for still more refined improvement doubles. There may never be a satis- factory final solution to the unending evolution of requirements for adapting to living in the Arctic. This concept of a progressive need for more complex solutions is contrary to the need of simple, austere, and practical solutions neces- sary for the military problems clearly outlined by Generals Trudeau and McNamara in the preceding two papers. The military's prime concern is the soldier as an effective fighting man. Logistic problems inherently restrict the soldier to essentials. For man to establish a normal civilization in the Arctic, it will be necessary to provide the comforts, conveniences, and social mores obtainable elsewhere over and above the means for solving the unique problems of the Arctic. The pioneers of civilization have always solved their problems on their own initiative. We at this conference are pioneering to make this hostile region livable. It is only when man attempts to conquer his environment that progress is made. Had the proverbial Garden of Eden persisted on earth, making no demands on the inhabitants to obtain food, clothing, 14

or shelter, there might have been no civilization as we know it. The aborigines of Australia have existed for ages unclothed, unsheltered, and reasonably well fed by gleaning. They are, however, generally accepted by anthropologists to be the least advanced members of the human race. As Dr. Stefansson pointed out in his "Northward Course of Em- pire," civilization has progressed to harsher environments where greater ingenuity is required to survive. Historically weak peoples vanquished by a powerful nation were forced into harsher environ- ments to which they were forced to adapt. Upon meeting that chal- lenge they became sufficiently powerful not only to regain their lost lands but to push beyond their original boundaries and in turn force others into harsh environments. Step by step we can trace this pat- tern from Egypt, Crete, Greece, Rome, France, the Byzantine Empire, the Germanic nations, England, and finally to other continents. The history of our own country in overcoming the problems of vastness, forested regions, severe winters, led to the development of railroads, highways, automobiles, airplanes, radio, TV, and a host of other means to improve the standard of living. We too have become power- ful. Other nations, such as the USSR, have been forced in a similar manner to develop their resources to solve difficult living problems. They also have become powerful. It is obvious that once a nation becomes complacent and ceases to apply its ingenuity, it may face the decline that other nations have suffered in the past. However, positive reasoning carried to a logical conclusion can but lead us to the recog- nition that the future of life in the polar regions may eventually become brighter than appears today. Harshness of environment is a limitation; but if overcome, it becomes a source of strength. After all who is to say that the temperate regions are always to be consid- ered the optimum environment when at one time they were less desir- able than the tropical locations ? If a higher civilization is feasible in the Arctic, why has it not developed there? The Arctic aborigines possessed crafts, arts, and skills superior to those of the more isolated aborigines in temperate regions; but being ignorant of more favorable environs and higher living standards elsewhere, they were content to accept the many limitations which their severe climate imposed. Today as the Eskimos learn more about life in other parts of the world, they become increas- ingly discontent with their simple way of life. Thus in order to realize a contented future Arctic population, it will be necessary to provide all "the best of everything" that other cultures have to offer. We recognize the major motivating forces that have taken modern civilized man into the polar regions: adventure, economic hopes, popu- lation pressure, national security, scientific quest, premium wages, and even escape. But what keeps a population in a pioneer region per- manently? First of all there must be normal family life. Most of our current Arctic military and scientific activities have not recognized 15

this requirement. Therefore, even the men who enjoy Arctic existence are forced for personal reasons to retreat. Secondly, there must be a stable means of providing a livelihood. Military and scientific work can be maintained indefinitely, but current assignments do not provide a sufficiently secure career basis to encourage a man and his family to make their home in the Arctic. Economic pursuits such as agricul- ture and mining cannot yet be counted on to provide stable employ- ment. The third requirement is the provision of ample communication and transportation networks. Radio does permit reasonably good communications, and airplanes have gone a long way toward solving problems of isolated communities; but neither of these has reached the stage of fulfilling the daily requirements of living as we know them in the temperate regions. The large concentration of population in southern Canada is con- tented and stable. At one time southern Canada, where pioneer living was very difficult, was considered the approach to the Arctic. How- ever, the inhabitants have long since developed the three basic require- ments of family life, livelihood, and a communication and road net- work. Southern Canada is now accepted as part of the temperate domain. As the road and communication networks press northward, accompanied by suitable economic and social foundations for life, attainment of the Arctic becomes real. This progress is advancing steadily into Alaska, parts of Greenland, the Scandinavian countries, and the USSR. Our own North American Arctic, however, is very sparsely populated and will continue to be so until we can supply the fundamental demands. For the near future, particularly in order to solve military needs, we must accept stages of development which fall short of the ideal for permanency. The Home Guard of Finmark who protects Northern Norway is a stable population living in the Arctic region. We must eventually look to Home Guards of Alaska, Northern Canada, and the entire Scandinavian Arctic as the sound long-range basis for military protection. In the meantime we shall have to accept a transient mili- tary population to guard the Arctic frontiers of western civilization. For obvious economic reasons we shall have to meet the military requirements of austerity and simple, economic solutions far short of our long-range requirements. Actually, civilization of the Arctic is being accelerated by this mili- tary effort because our forces must live and function in the Arctic and adapt to its limitations. If our neighbors across the Arctic Ocean were completely friendly and the only stimulation toward progress were that of economic trade, development of the region might be extended over many generations and be slow by comparison with the strides we are making today. In conclusion, Man Living in the Arctic is a problem with no simple, quick solution. We have to solve some of the same problems over and over again until we can finally fulfill the basic requirements to make 16

the region acceptable to modern man and give him motivation to stay there permanently. CHAIRMAN SIPLE : The next speaker this morning is someone who has had experi- ence in looking at Man in many parts of the world and seeing how he reacts to his environments. Our speaker is well-equipped to describe accurately the Cold Climate Man. It is a pleasure to introduce to you Dr. H. T. Hammel, Department of Physiology, University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Hammel. THE COLD CLIMATE MAN H. T. HAMMEL University of Pennsylvania Medical School Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Many cultures of men experience exposure to the cold to varying degrees. Not only men living in the Arctic but men of cultures found in temperate and even sub-tropical zones of the earth may be cold exposed during some time of the day or year. Physiologists have long been asking the question, "Has this exposure made these men, in any way, different in their internal physiological adjustment to their cold environment?" We believe that man is essentially a tropical animal. Yet cultures of men have been making excursions into colder parts of the earth for tens if not hundreds of thousands of years. For the pole-ward move- ments, he has depended largely upon a primitive technology, employ- ing fire, garments of fur, and shelters constructed of available mate- rials. Since his technology was not always sufficient for the climate, some degree of cold exposure was experienced by these roving cul- tures; so our question is, again, "In what way and to what extent has exposure to cold rendered these men different from the tropical inhabitants ?" Many investigators have attempted to find answers to this question. I am going to bias this presentation by limiting my discussion to those studies which have been accomplished under the direction of Schol- ander and his collaborators who have undertaken a physiological sur- vey of many cultures of men exposed to cold. The first chore was to devise some simple field technique which would be adequate for getting the answers. This task was accomplished while working with a group of eight Norwegian young men who were exposed to moderate cold during autumn in the mountains of Norway (1). These men were exposed to cold simply by withholding from them adequate insula- tion for the type of climate they were to endure for six weeks. At ten- day intervals they would return to a laboratory set up in a resort hotel in the mountains of southern Norway where both oxygen consump- tion and body temperatures were measured throughout eight hours of moderate cold exposure at night. During the experimental period, the subject lay on a cot with his 17

head in a ventilated hood similar to that shown in Fig. 1. Since the night temperature was near freezing (average about 3°C), the micro- environment was moderated by placing the cot in an unheated tent and enclosing the subject in a single woolen blanket and windproof cloth (insulation of blanket, thin cloth, and overlying air was 2.0 clo.). The volume of air ventilating the hood was collected in a spirometer for ten minute periods and analyzed for O2 and C02 content. Fig. 2 illustrates the methods used for metabolic determinations, although the scene is from a later expedition to southern Chile. Rectal and skin temperatures were measured at half hour intervals throughout the night with thermocouples. The thermal and metabolic responses of the acclimatized and the control groups are exemplified in Fig. 3 by results for one individual from each group. The metabolism and heat production of the acclima- tized group was a little higher than the metabolism of the control group especially during the first part of the night, and the skin tem- peratures were a little higher in the acclimatized individuals. There was no difference in the rectal temperatures of the two groups. These findings were interpreted to mean that modern Europeans exposed nightly to moderate cold for a few weeks become acclimatized by increasing their capacity to produce heat in order to maintain a warmer skin temperature. This is metabolic acclimatization rather than insulative acclimatization wherein the metabolism would remain basal or resting as the skin temperature cooled. One of the results of the study on the young men exposed to cold on the Hardanger Vidda of southern Norway was that we had a discriminating field method which could be used to survey the thermal and metabolic responses of a number of ethnic and cultural groups. The first such group investigated was the aborigine of central Aus- tralia in the wintertime. Winter is the dry season in the semi-desert of central Australia. The minimum night temperature ranges from a few degrees below freezing up to 12°C with a mean minimum temperature of 4°C. The sky is always very clear, and the radiant temperature of the zenith is nearly always 20°C below the air temperature. The sleeping habit of the aborigine was to lie naked between two small fires behind a low windbreak of brush and unshielded from the cold sky. With sufficient attention given to the fire, the micro-environment of the sleeper can be maintained within the thermal neutral zone for even the white man. Although the experience of excessive warmth on one side and marked coolness on another is strange indeed to the latter, there is, however, inherent in this manner of sleeping a tendency to cold expo- sure. The fire is unattended and diminishes its radiant heat output. When sleeping, the sleeper cools until he is aroused by the discom- fort to attend the fire again. A lifetime of this pattern of sleeping leads to an individual who is chronically exposed to periodic cold. Genera- 18

FIGURE 1. Ventilated hood and thermocouples on cot inside tent. Subjects lay on cot in- side a woolen blanket bag with thin wind protector. FIGURE 2. Inside field labora- tory at Puerto Eden, Welling- ton Island, Chile showing portable spirometers and Scholander 0.5 cc gas analyzer in use. tions of this "proper bush" sleeping has produced a culture of cold exposed people. Using methods similar to those employed with the young Norwe- gians, the thermal and metabolic responses of the central Australian aborigine were measured during a night of moderate cold exposure (2). The natives and the control white subjects slept on cots and 19

1100 pm jpproi Timt m hours FIGURE 3. Oxygen consumption and body temperatures of acclimatized Norwegian student (right) and control subject (left) during a night of moderate cold expo- sure. Air Temperature about 3°C. inside a blanket and a thin cloth wind protector (total insulation, including still air, equal to 1.9 clo). They were shielded from the sky and wind so that the thermal stress came only from the low night air temperature (0 to 5°C) moderated by the woolen blanket. The average responses of six natives and four white subjects are shown in Fig. 4. After the first hour, the controls responded by bursts of shivering or other muscular activity which increased their meta- bolic rate from 10% to 90% above basal, averaging about 30% above basal. The natives responded with little or no metabolic compensation resulting in a greater fall in core and skin temperatures. By increased heat production, the white subjects were approaching thermal equi- librium with the environment while the natives continued to lose heat content throughout the night. The cold exposed Australian aborig- ine exhibits insulative acclimatization rather than metabolic accli- matization as was seen in the cold exposed Norwegians. The conduc- tance of the body shell between the core and skin surface was approx- 20

WHITE- CENTRAL NATIVE WINTER « IS I0 5 0I2345678 HOURS -N* - 0I2345678 HOURS 80 70 60, 50^ 40! * 30 ! 20 I0 0 FIGURE 4. Average thermal and metabolic responses of six central Australian aborigines (solid lines) and four control white subjects (broken lines) during a night of moderate cold exposure in the winter season. Tr = rectal temperature, Tb = mean body temperature, Ts = average skin temperature, Met. = heat pro- duction in Cal/mVhr, and Cond. = conductance of heat from core to skin in Cal/mVhr/°C. Air temperature about 3°C. imately 30% less in the natives than in the white subjects, supporting the statement that the natives showed insulative acclimatization. A second expedition to Australia (3) was undertaken to deter- mine a) whether the greater body cooling without metabolic com- pensation was seasonal in the central aborigine, or persisted in the summer to the same degree as in the winter and b) whether this con- dition would be found in the tropical coastal tribes of northern Australia where the natives do not experience cold exposure during the summer nights and may not experience chronic cold during any period of their lives. The experimental procedure for the second Australian study differed in no essential way from the first except that the thermal stress in the summer study was obtained by placing the sleeping cots inside a refrigerated meat van, maintained at 5°C throughout the night. The average thermal and metabolic responses of seven central Australian aborigines in the summer and six white subjects to mod- erate cold exposure at night are shown in Fig. 5. The response of the native was the same in the summer as in the winter, that is, greater body cooling than the control whites and no metabolic compensation. 21

WHITE- CENTRAL NATIVE SUMMER MET. OL " o 0I2345678 HOURS 0I2345678 HOURS 80 70 60 a: 40 30 20 I0 0 x FIGURE 5. Average thermal and metabolic responses of seven central Australian aborigines (solid lines) and six control white subjects (broken lines) during a night of moderate cold exposure in the summer season. Air temperature about 5°C. The absence of seasonal variation in responses to cold indicates that the insulative acclimatization is either a racial characteristic or that there was no seasonal difference in the cold exposure in the sleeping environment so that the response was due to a lifetime of cold expo- sure which would be reduced or absent in central natives moving to the tropics or in tropical natives. The combined meteorological data and the sleeping customs of the desert natives indicate that there was probably little or no seasonal variation in the sleeping environment. The minimum night temperatures in summer ranged from 11°C to 27°C. The annual rainfall of about 10 inches fell in the summer. However, the sky was mostly clear with a radiant temperature of 20 °C below ambient temperature, when not raining. The natives use fires less in summer than in winter and may be as cold exposed in summer as in winter. To learn if, or to what extent, the insulative acclimatization is a racial characteristic and, therefore, an adaptation to cold, similar measurements were made on aborigines living around Darwin. In summer, these natives experienced no cold exposure at all since they were sleeping in enclosures and the mean minimum night tempera- ture was 26°C, ranging from 22°C to 29°C. Summer was the mon- soon season; the air was humid and the sky hazy. In winter, however, 22

they could have experienced cold, and some of our subjects had been cold. The minimum night temperature was 20° ± 4°C, and the sky was clear and cold. 38 37 36 35 34 * '33 32 3 I 30 29 28 WHITE-TROPICAL NATIVE SUMMER '.)t i t\ " " o 0I2345678 HOURS 0 I 2345678 HOURS 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 I0 0 o FIGURE 6. Average thermal and metabolic responses of nine tropical Australian aborigines (solid lines) and six control white subjects (broken lines) during a night of moderate cold exposure in the summer season. Air temperature about 5°C. The average thermal and metabolic responses of nine tropical aborigines to cold are shown in Fig. 6 and are compared with the control whites. The metabolic response of the tropical natives was intermediate between the central natives and the control white. The average skin temperature fell a little more than the skin of the whites. The rectal temperatures were not significantly different throughout the night. The conductance of heat through the shell was about 30 % less than for the white and the same as for the central natives both summer and winter. The intermediate position of the tropical aborig- ines suggests that insulative acclimatization is a racial characteristic although the extent of body cooling before metabolic responses occur may be increased by chronic cold exposure in the night environment. Is insulative cooling the only type of acclimatization or adaptation to cold to be found in primitive cold exposured cultures or is metabolic acclimatization to be found also? The answer to this question was obtained by proceeding to the Strait of Magellan (4). Living on the islands in the Archipelago south and west of conti- nental South America were three primitive Indian tribes: Ona. 23

Yaghan, and Alacaluf. The Ona Indians lived in the interior of the Grand Island of Tierra del Fuego; the Yaghans lived along the Beagle Channel on the southern coast of Grand Island of Tierra del Fuego and along the coasts of islands running westward to Brecknock Peninsula. Along the channels, among the islands stretching north- ward for approximately 300 miles, was another culture of canoe Indians, the Alacaluf. At present there are probably no more than two or three Onas, a half dozen Yaghans and approximately 50 Alacalufs. The climate of the Archipelago is largely determined by the low southern latitude and the winds off the Antarctic Ocean. The tempera- tures recorded at Meteorological Station at Puerto Eden on Wellington Island reveal that diurnal variations and seasonal variations are remarkably small. Even in winter the ambient temperature is regu- larly a little above freezing. The unpleasant aspect of this climate, which is now legendary, results from the rain frequently mixed with sleet or snow and the wind. The rainfall for Puerto Eden is over 100 inches annually and falls nearly uniformly throughout the year. Not infrequently, the winter precipitation will fall as a light, short- lived cover of snow at sea level. To the chilling influence of the rain, the overcast skies, and the near-freezing temperatures are added the frequent winds. Winds through the channels can blow with sufficient vigor to make life in an open canoe a chilling, if not a treacherous, experience. Although the climate can be little more than wretched to a poorly clothed man caught on the open channel or isolated on a barren rocky island, the weather can also be as comforting or as invigorating as a day in spring in the more temperate regions of the earth if the air should be calm and the sun shining. Even at its worst, a dry wind-tight shelter with a modest fire is enough to mitigate the chill that exists outside. The average heat production and body temperatures of nine Ala- caluf Indians during a night of cold exposure are shown in Fig. 7. The methods employed for measuring oxygen consumption and body temperatures were identical to those used in the previous studies on the Austrialian aborigine. During the cold exposure, the subjects slept or rested on a canvas cot in an unheated tent. The temperature inside the tent was in all cases between 2° and 5°C. Each subject was inside a sleeping bag made of a woolen blanket and a wind cover (total insu- lation about 2 clo). Also shown in Fig. 7 are the average responses of six Indians who were studied again while sleeping without cold exposure. For these measurements, the subjects lay on a mattress and were free to use as many blankets as required to remain comfortable. The metabolic rate was found to start at about 60 Cal/m2/hr or about 160% of the average white man's basal metabolic rate. The metabolism gradually declined throughout the night of cold exposure 24

38 37 36 35 34 33 32 3I 30 29 28 ALACALUF INDIANS —- COLD EXPOSED -—- WARM EXPOSED 0I2345678 HOURS 0I 2345678 HOURS FIGURE 7. Average thermal and metabolic responses of nine Alacaluf Indians during a night of moderate cold exposure (solid lines) and of six Indians during a night of warm exposure (broken lines) in the winter season. Air temperature about 3°C. to about 50 Cal/m2/hr. Although the Alacaluf would add a few bouts of shivering on top of his resting or sleeping metabolism, the trend in his metabolism was downward as the night progressed, falling to about the same level of heat production to which the white man would increase his metabolism by the end of a night of moderate cold exposure. The course of the rectal temperature of the Alacaluf was not differ- ent from the white man's temperature, starting above 37 °C and falling to and remaining at 36.2 °C for most of the night. The average skin temperature fell to about 28 °C the last hours of the night or about 1°C below the white man's average skin temperature after a night of cold exposure. On the other hand, the foot temperatures of the Alacaluf did not fall below 19°C, a level that is 2° to 3°C higher than the white man's foot temperature. The integrated effect of the higher over-all metabolism and the slightly lower average skin temperature was a body conductance for heat flowing from core to periphery which was a little higher than the body conductance of the unaccli- matized white man during the latter half of the night. 25

The Alacalufs show some similarity to the cold acclimatized Nor- wegian students in that both groups initiated the night's sleep with a very high metabolic rate. Both groups were able to sleep better than control white men. The rectal temperature of both groups was the same and the foot temperature of both groups was higher than that of the unacclimatized white man. The metabolic rate of the average Alacaluf during a warm night was not distinguishable from the rate during a cold night. His rectal temperature leveled off to about 36.7°C in the warm run and his average skin temperature was between 34° and 35°C. There was a gradual increase in body heat content for the first two hours of the warm night; thereafter, it was nearly constant. The body conductance while sleeping warm was 2 to 3 times the conductance in the cold environment showing that the vascular system is vasodilated during comfortable sleep. Both native North American Arctic inhabitants, the Indian and the Eskimo, have been studied by methods similar to those already dis- cussed. The thermal and metabolic responses of the Old Crow Indians of the Yukon Territory, during a night of moderate cold exposure were measured by Irving (5) in the autumn and again in the spring by Eisner (6). The average metabolic response of nine Arctic Indians in the autumn during a night of cold exposure is shown in Fig. 8. For comparison, the average response of the same Indians during a warm night and the average response of seven urban white control subjects to both warm and cold exposure are also shown in Fig. 8. In the same figure, the average metabolic response of the Indians measured in the autumn (solid circles) is compared with the average response of eight of the same Indians measured in the spring (X's), following a winter of intermittent exposure and occasional sleeping in cool environments while traveling, hunting, trapping, and wood-cutting. The rectal temperatures and the average skin temperatures meas- ured in the Arctic Indians in the spring are compared with the aver- age results obtained in the autumn in Fig. 9. Little or no seasonal differences were found in the metabolic rates of these Indians although there was a tendency for a slightly higher rate of heat production in the spring especially in the early part of the night before the thermal stress was fully effective. There does appear to be a higher rate of heat production in Indians in both the fall and in the spring than was found in the urban white subjects. This small difference in metabolism between the Indians and whites (about 15%) was evident in both the warm and the cold nights. There was no sea- sonal difference found in the rectal temperature of the Indians; for both fall and spring, the rectal temperature of the average Indian was about 0.5°C below the temperature for the average white subjects. The average skin temperature of the white subjects and Indians was the same throughout the cold night although the foot temperature of the whites fell about 2°C more than the Indians' foot temperature. In 26

80 70 60 50 3 30 20 I0 ARCTIC INDIANS •—• FALL-COLD o—o FALL-WARM x—x SPRING-COLD. 80 70 60 cc = 50 *40 _i | 30 20 I0 _i_ URBAN WHITE CONTROLS •—• COLD o—o WARM -2-I0I2345678 HOURS -2-I0I23456 HOURS 7 8 FIGURE 8. Left. Average metabolic response of nine Arctic Indians during a night exposed to cold in the fall (solid circles), exposed to warm (open circles) and eight of the same Indians exposed to cold in spring (X's). Right. Average metabolic response of seven control white subjects during a night exposed to cold (solid circles) and exposed to warm (open circles). Air tempera- ture about 0°C. Redrawn from Irving (5) and Eisner (6). the spring, the average skin temperature of the Indians was roughly 2°C below the average skin temperature in autumn due largely to lower thigh and arm temperatures. Although the authors (5, 6) conclude that some small but significant physiological variations have been found in this isolated and homoge- neous Arctic population, they do not know whether these variations have adaptive value. It is puzzling to understand why the slightly greater resting metabolic rate of the Arctic Indian was accompanied by a lower rectal temperature and by a lower average skin tempera- ture. On the other hand, the greater resting metabolic rate accom- panied by a higher foot temperature is suggestive of the same type of metabolic acclimatization seen in the Norwegian students and must differ only in degree from the adaptation to cold described in the Ala- caluf where a high resting metabolic rate accompanied by a high foot temperature was characteristic of this group. Another group of North American Arctic natives, the Eskimo hunters of Cumberland Sound, were also studied by the methods at hand (7) and appear to show a response to cold similar in some ways to that seen in the Arctic Indians. In Figs. 10 and 11, the average metabolic and thermal responses of ten Eskimos and three white subjects are compared during a night of moderate cold exposure and again during warm exposure. The higher resting metabolism of the Eskimo was accompanied during the cold night by a rectal 27

•a 38H ARCTIC INDIANS RECTAL 37- M t VX, t • • • 36- : T*M — -»-U- « ; * * i & «. . . .... t , . : — * — , • -,fc«.j*»j —t- • 35- •.. ! . - S i « T i * • •V.A 3 4 ? hrs. AVERAGE SKIN : • >f|7M^» 26 FIGURE 9. Upper. Rectal temperatures of eight Arctic Indians exposed to cold in the spring (solid circles) and the average rectal temperature of nine Indians exposed to cold in the fall (X's). Lower. Average skin temperatures while exposed to cold in the spring (solid circles; broken line for group average) and while exposed to cold in the fall (X's with solid line for group average). From Eisner (6). temperature slightly lower than the control white subjects, an average skin temperature 1 to 2°C higher than the white skin temperature and a slightly higher body conductance. The final group investigated in this physiological survey of cold exposed people was another Arctic culture, the nomadic Lapps of Finnmark, Norway and the village Lapps living in Kautokeino (8). The nomads were reindeer herders and hunters spending most of their time outdoors or in poorly heated Lapp tents. The village Lapps were farmers living in rather modern houses. The average metabolic response of seven shepherd-hunters, five villagers, and five control 28

PANGNIRTUNG ESKIMOS —- COLD EXPOSED —~ WARM EXPOSED n80 -I0I2345678 HOURS - I0 -I 0 I 234567 HOURS FIGURE 10. Average thermal and metabolic responses of ten Eskimos during a night of moderate cold exposure (solid lines) and during a warm night (broken lines) in the winter season. Air temperature about 3°C. Redrawn from Hart (7). white members of the research team during a night of cold expo- sure is shown in Fig. 12. Only the nomadic Lapps were different from the controls by producing a substantially smaller metabolic response accompanied by 1°C greater fall in rectal temperature, Fig. 13. In this respect the nomadic Lapps were more like the Australian aborig- ine than like the other natives of the Arctic. In summary, a comparison of most of the ethnic groups discussed in this survey may be made in terms of the average metabolic re- sponse of each group plotted as a function of the mean body tempera- ture, Figs. 14 and 15. Three distinct patterns of response to moderate cold exposure are shown: a) the unacclimatized, urban European or American starts the period of cold exposure with a metabolic rate at or near a basal level and increases it markedly as his body tempera- ture falls, b) the central Australian aborigine starts with a metabolic rate near basal and slides slowly downward as his rectal and skin temperatures fall to a little lower values than those of urbanized white controls, and c) the Alacaluf Indian starts with a high metabolic rate which declines slightly and is accompanied by a rectal temperature falling no lower than the rectal temperature of the white control, the skin temperatures of the trunk falling a little more and the foot 29

38 37 36 35 34 °C 33 32 3I 30 29 28 WHITES -o-COLD EXPOSED ---WARM EXPOSED -I0I2345678 HOURS -I 0I 2345678 HOURS FIGURE 11. Average thermal and metabolic responses of three control white sub- jects during a night of moderate cold exposure (solid lines) and two whites during a warm night (broken lines). Air temperature about 3°C. Redrawn from Hart (7). temperature falls a little less than those of the white man. This response may be called metabolic acclimatization or adaptation. The responses of the Eskimos and the Old Crow Indians were in some ways inter- mediate between the responses of the Alacaluf Indians and the unaccli- matized urban white man. The initial metabolic rate was intermediate but, unlike the Alacaluf's response and like the unacclimatized white man's response, the metabolic rate of both the Arctic Indians and the Eskimos increased slightly as the body temperatures of the Arctic Indians (except the foot temperature) fell more than those of the control whites and the rectal temperature of the Eskimos fell slightly more than that of the whites while the average skin temperature fell less. The response to cold of the Arctic Indian and the Eskimo may represent a fourth pattern of response but there remains some doubt as to whether it can be classed as an acclimatization to cold. The re- sponse of the tropical Australian aborigine and the nomadic Lapp herder was intermediate between the response of the unacclimatized white man and the Australian aborigine of the central desert. The response of the latter group may be termed insulative acclimatization or adaptation. 30

80 70 60 i 50 •v. M ? 40 g 30 ^ 20 I0 0 —— LAPP SHEPHERDS x---x LAPP VILLAGERS CONTROLS A / WARM IN THE BAG AT 0°C -2-I0I2345678 HOURS FIGURE 12. The average met- abolic response of seven no- madic Lapp shepherds (solid circles), five village Lapps, (X's) and five control white subjects (open circles) dur- ing a night of cold exposure. Air temperature 0°C. Rectal temp. •C 37 • • shepherds-hunters »—* villagers o—o controls Neutral thermal environment 0I2345678 Time in hours FIGURE 13. Average rectal temperatures of nomadic Lapps (solid circles), village Lapps (+'s) and control white subjects (open circles) during night of cold exposure. Although certain small differences are easily recognized in the metabolic and temperature responses of the several groups investi- gated while living under more or less natural conditions, it is difficult to go further than this and inquire into the nature of these small 31

65 60 55 50 ! 40 : 35 30 ts 20 A SUMMER EUROPEAN CONTROLS •8 •0 55 50 45 4O 35 30 15 B SUMMER CENTRAL AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINES 65 60 • 55 • 50 45 40 35 30 65 60 55 50 45 35 30 25 to 36 35 34 33 32 3I Ti-C D WINTER EUROPEAN °^ CONTROLS 36 35 34 33 32 3I Ti "C 20 C SUMMER NORTHERN AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINE* 36 35 34 33 32 3I T.-C 36 35 34 33 32 3I !• -C • 5 r E •0 WINTER 55 . CENTRAL AUSTRALI * ABORIGINE |50 Z 45 • ^40 o x 35 : °°v< 30 25 to 36 35 34 33 32 3I Ti -C FIGURE 14. Heat production versus mean body temperature of control white sub- jects, A and D; central Australian aborigine in summer, B; tropical Australian aborigine in summer, C; central Australian aborigine in winter, E. differences. It is possible that all differences would vanish should it be possible to maintain all groups under exactly the same conditions as to kind of food ingested, degree of cold exposure prior to testing, physi- cal fitness, physical and mental health, etc., and after this, study them with exactly the same tests. Only in the laboratory would one wish to attempt to meet these exacting conditions. In the laboratory any minor differences in the degree of cold expo- sure during the testing period can be eliminated. Such differences are known to exist between the several field studies that have been con- ducted on the different groups referred to above. There were small differences in the average dry bulb temperature which each group attempted to maintain during the night. There were small differences in the insulation of the sleeping bags used in each test. In addition, there were differences in the cooling coefficient of the air surrounding the sleeping bag due to air movement. We can say, therefore, that the degree of cold exposure was only approximately the same in these several studies due to the varying circumstances that each field team had to deal with. Should it be possible to eliminate all these variations, the uncer- tainties as to the origin of similarities or differences would not vanish since the problem of obtaining a representative sample still persists, 32

65 WlNTER 6 5 - WINTER 60 55 0 ALACALUF 60 00°, ° INDIANS ;]° ALACALUF INDIANS §= 50 0 « o«°° COLD 55 0 EXPOSED a; 50 | WARM EXPOSED X. "x 45 "3 45 . X x, < «° ^ 40 o 0 * 35 * 35 - 30 30 - 23 25 • 20 36 35 34 33 32 3I 36 Ti-C 35 34 33 32 3I Ti °C 65r FALL 65r SPRING 60 o» OLD CROW 60 o *» OLD CROW o INDIANS «, e INDIANS 55 -oo" 55 • e o I 50 • • • i so ^ \ Z 45 a 45 < 40 ^ 40 o o * 35 * 35 30 30 25 25 • 20 36 35 34 33 32 3I 36 35 34 33 32 3I Ti -C Ti *C PANGNIRTUNG ESKIMOS 65 r COLD 65r WINTER WARM 60 « 60- 55 - ... J 55. <b e | 50 - ° °[ 50- c£u O \ x. lj "z 45 "Z 45 - O s. X < 40 5*40- o o * 35 ^ 35 - 30 30 • 25 25 - eo I 1 1 I I I 20- I I I I I t 36 35 34 33 32 3I TB °C 36 35 34 33 32 3I TB "C FIGURE 15. Heat production versus mean body temperature of Alacaluf Indians cold in winter (upper left) and warm (upper right), Arctic Indians cold in fall (middle left) and cold in spring (middle right), and Eskimos cold in winter (lower left) and warm (lower right). 33

especially when selecting from such a heterogeneous population as the white European. Furthermore, one would not be able to determine which similarities or differences were genetically fixed and which were acquired without a comparative study of populations of each group that were exposed to cold for generations, for a lifetime, for short periods, and to no cold at all. Although we would like to bring these studies into the laboratory where a long series of systematic studies could be made under well- controlled conditions, it may be that results of equal value can be had by recognizing and accepting the limitations of the field type study and by continuing to examine as many racial groups living under as many varied climatic conditions as possible. If enough races of man are investigated and if within each race a range of environmental conditions are encountered, it may be possible, in the end, to sort out the causes for the small differences in responses to cold already de- scribed. It may even be possible to decide whether a particular response endows the group possessing a characteristic response with any advan- tage over the groups not possessing it. Finally, all investigators of the cold exposed groups included in this survey have commented upon the greater ability of the cold exposed natives to sleep during the cold stress. This fact alone is sufficient to support the view that habituation to cold also occurs in cold exposed races of man showing markedly different types of physiological accli- matization or adaptation to cold. References 1. Scholander, P. F., Hammel, H. T., Andersen, K. Lange, and L0yning, Y., Metabolic Acclimation to Cold in Man, J. Appl. Physiol., 12, 1 (1958). 2. Scholander, P. F., Hammel, H. T., Hart, J. S., Le Messurier, D. H., and Steen, J., Cold Adaptation in Australian Aborigines, J. Appl. Physiol., 13, 211 (1958). 3. Hammel, H. T., Eisner, R. W., Le Messurier, D. H., Andersen, H. T., and Milan, F. A., Thermal and Metabolic Responses of the Australian Aborigines Exposed to Moderate Cold in Summer, J. Appl. Physiol., 14, 605 (1959). 4. Hammel, H. T., Eisner, R. W., Andersen, K. Lange, Scholander, P. F., Coon, C. S., Medina, A., Strozzi, L., Milan, F. A., and Hock, R. J., Thermal and Metabolic Responses of the Alacaluf Indians to Moderate Cold Exposure, WADD Technical Report 60-633 (1960). 5. Irving, L., Andersen, K. Lange, Bolstad, A., Eisner, R. W., Hildes, J. A., L0yning, Y., Nelms, J. D. Peyton, L. J., and Whaley, R. D., Metabolism and Temperature of Arctic Indian Men During a Cold Night, J. Appl. Phyisol., 15, 635 (1960). 6. Eisner, R. W., Andersen, K. Lange, and Hermansen, L., Thermal and Meta- bolic Responses of Arctic Indians to Moderate Cold Exposure at the End of Winter, J. Appl. Physiol., 15, 659 (1960). 7. Hart, J. S., et al, In preparation. 8. Andersen, K. Lange, L0yning, Y., Nelms, J. D., Wilson, 0., Fox, R. H., and Bolstad, A., Metabolic and Thermal Response to a Moderate Cold Exposure in Nomadic Lapps, J. Appl. Physiol., 15, 649 (1960). CHAIRMAN SIPLE: Our last speaker of this morning's session will be Colonel Willard Pearson of the United States Army, Alaska, who will speak on "Alaska, the Gibraltar of the North." Colonel Pearson. 34

ALASKA—GIBRALTAR OF THE NORTH COLONEL WILLARD PEARSON Headquarters, United States Army Alaska Introduction The airplane flying the polar routes initially focused attention on the military importance of the Arctic regions. This interest has heightened with the development of the long-range land based missile. More recently the nuclear powered submarine, a mobile missile base cruising in the northern waters, has brought the strategic importance of the Far North into sharper focus. Should there be a general war, these new weapons—jet aircraft, land based missiles, and missile car- rying submarines—will transform the Arctic Ocean into the Mediter- ranean of World War II. The gateways to the Arctic (Fig. 1) are the Bering Straits on the west, the only sea link between the Arctic and Pacific Oceans, and the Norwegian Sea on the east. These entrances bear the same relation- ship to the Arctic as do the Straits of Gibraltar and the Red Sea to the Mediterranean. Alaska, the Gibraltar of the North, is separated from Russia by 35 miles of water. The United States' Little Diomeda Island and Russia's Big Diomeda Island in the Bering Straits are less than 3 miles apart. FIGURE 1. Gateways to the Arctic. 85

The strategic significance of the northern regions has not been fully appreciated considering weapons now available and potential new developments in weapons, transportation, communications, and nuclear power. The purpose of my presentation is threefold: First: To point out the strategic importance of the Far North with special reference to Alaska. Second: To examine the implications of the Far North to the United States Army. Third: To recommend an Army program to improve the ability of the ground forces to operate in the north. The Strategic Significance of the Far North The Military defines the area of Northern Operations as that area enclosed by the 50° isotherm for the warmest four months of the year (Fig. 2). It covers all of Alaska, Canada, a part of the upper midwest, Greenland, the upper Scandinavian Peninsula, 65% of Russia includ- ing all of Siberia, and half of Korea. This is the area I shall discuss. Its strategic significance can best be appreciated from an analysis of the following factors: 1. Geographic. 2. Political. 3. Economic. 4. Psychological. Geographic. A glance at a polar projection of the globe shows that Europe, Asia, and North America (shown within the enclosed circle) come closest together at the North Pole (Fig. 3). The shortest dis- tance between the principal population and industrial centers of Eurasia and North America is over the polar regions. Note the dif- ference in distance from the center of the United States to Moscow via the great circle route versus the polar route. Fig. 4 shows another comparison. Again we see that the distance from the center of the United States to Moscow via the polar route is roughly 4,500 miles whereas from Thule, Greenland to Moscow is a mere 2,300 miles. An ICBM located in Fairbanks, Alaska, having a range of 5,000 miles could easily engage targets in most of Western Europe, Russia, and China. A missile firing from Alaska to China has a significant range advantage over a missile located on the West Coast of the United States firing on the same target. Note range differences. The Polaris equipped submarine, operating from Alaska bases (Fig. 5) and using the Arctic Ocean as an underwater airfield to achieve concealment, dispersion, and surprise, can launch missiles south into Eurasia generally as far as the 50° of latitude. This dis- tance would encompass the British Isles, France, northwest Europe including the Scandinavian Peninsula, and a huge chunk of Russia 36

FIGURE 2. Area of Northern Operations. including the trans Siberian Railroad. From the Barents Sea the Polaris can be fired over Moscow and hit the Black Sea. These shorter distances to the heartland of the United States and Eurasia from Arctic bases insure greater accuracy for missiles, heavier payloads, less time in flight, as well as fewer failures in flight. Greater accuracy and heavier payloads reduce the over-all force re- quirements. The reduction in flight time to target increases the chance of achieving surprise and shortens the time a missile is subject to attack. It also reduces the time the enemy has to react to a surprise attack. These shorter distances via the Polar Route bring the strategic importance of the Far North into sharp focus when viewed through the lens of our rapidly developing ability to travel above, across, or under the Arctic. We must be able to get maximum warning of an air or missile attack on the United States launched from Eurasia. To get maximum warning, the curvature of the earth requires us to locate our warning stations as near the top of the world as possible in order to lock down on the other side (Fig. 6). This schematic drawing shows the point where radar located in the United States might first pick up a missile launched from Eurasia versus the point of pick-up when the radar is located in the Arctic. The DEW Line was located along the Arctic 37

FIGURE 3. Polar Route versus Great Circle Route. Circle for this reason. For the same reason our BMEWS (Ballistic Missile Early Warning System) and MIDAS (Missile Detection Alarm System) sites are being located in the Far North. These BMEWS and MIDAS sites become strategic targets because of their limited num- ber, criticality in the early days of a general war, and the long lead- time required to replace them if destroyed. The location of these stra- tegic targets on our northern outposts obviously increases the strate- gic significance of these outposts. Thus in the Far North, geography combines with the increased range of modern weapons to highlight the strategic importance of the area as an advanced outpost for early warning, interception of air missile or satellite attacks, and for launching attacks or counter- attacks. Political. Since the end of World War II, United States rights in many bases overseas have been either restricted or revoked outright. Even our position in the Caribbean, once considered impregnable, is under political attack. Forces in Alaska, on the other hand, are on United States soil. They are not subject to pressures by foreign political complications. Economic. A modern power must protect its economic potential and mobilization base in a nuclear war. A nation will seek to fight a 38

FIGURE 4. Comparative distances to Eurasia. war as far as possible from its heavily populated and industrialized areas. The vast undeveloped areas of the Far North permit the disper- sion of military forces away from heavily populated and industrial centers. This sparsely settled area not only provides passive protection to these forces, but also reduces the vulnerability of our industries and civilians to missile counter battery fire and radioactive fallout. Higher initial costs for military operation in Alaska are offset by the political stability which assures retention of bases over the long term. Funds spent in the 49th State are retained in the United States economy rather than being spent in overseas areas where political affiliations are subject to change. Furthermore, the drain on United States gold reserves caused by stationing large forces in foreign countries was dramatically illustrated by a Presidential decision in November 1960 to evacuate a large number of military dependents from overseas bases. This directive does not apply to Alaska. Psychological. Should an enemy secure even a limited beachhead on the most bleak coast of northern Alaska, she could proclaim to the world that United States territory has been successfully invaded. Invasion of United States soil would adversely influence the uncom- mited nations in the early stages of a general war. Even nuisance raids on United States soil would be of great psychological and propaganda value. Remember, if you will, the near panic and hysteria that developed 39

FIGURE 5. Area coverage—-Polaris submarine. on the West Coast following the attack on Pearl Harbor at the outbreak of World War II. To counteract political or psychological defeat, public opinion would press for an early counterattack against enemy lodgments on the Alaskan periphery. The strategic importance of the Far North arises from its geo- graphic location on the shortest route between North America and Eurasia. This military significance is further increased by important political, economic, and psychological factors. So much for the strategic importance of the Far North! The Implications of the Far North to the Army The Army's objective in war is destruction of the enemy and occu- pation of the enemy's heartland. Before the decisive battle for the heartland is fought, there are strategic outposts which must be first seized or neutralized (Fig. 7). In World War II, for example, the Japanese considered capture of the dense, steaming, fever infested jungles of New Guinea strate- gically necessary. Why? This island became a strategic base for 40

FIGURE 6. Radar pick-up points. blocking the principal United States overseas supply route into Australia as well as a staging area for attacking that continent. On the other side of the globe, the Allies and the Axis were at the same time fighting for control of the hot, barren, deserts of North Africa. The strategic North African coastland provided bases for ground, sea, and air forces to control the Mediterranean as well as staging areas for attacking the "soft underbelly" of Europe. In the Far North the Germans captured Norway and attempted to cut the Allies' northern sea route to the Soviet Union. The Japanese likewise struck in the North and attacked the Aleutian Islands. You can see that in World War II major forces were thus deeply engaged in jungle, desert, and Arctic (environmental) warfare on strategic outposts long before fighting the final battle in the more tem- perate climate of Europe. Similarly, in any future war between the United States and a power on the Eurasian land mass, significant air, sea, and land battles will be fought over the Arctic Basin as the opposing forces contest for this strategic outpost. In the early stages of a general war, opposing forces would strike swiftly to: 1. Destroy or neutralize each other's military potential in the Far North. 41

NORWCtf ...* ALEUTIAN ISLANDS NEW GUINEA FIGURE 7. Battles for World War II outposts. 2. Protect their northern flanks by dominating the Arctic regions. 3. Develop offensive bases to provide missile fire support for inva- sions by land, sea, and air of the enemy's heartland. Possession of the Arctic Basin by an unfriendly power jeopardizes the security of the United States. For example, in the initial phases of a general war, it would be important to neutralize missiles located on the Arctic rimland firing megaton weapons on the industrial complex in the United States (Fig. 8). It is doubtful if this neutralization could be successfully or completely accomplished by bombs or missiles alone. Recall that in World War II, German V-2 rockets, firing on London from the northern coast of Europe, were neutralized only after the Army overran and occupied the sites. Early neutralization is even more critical today than it was in the days of the "Model T," V-2 rocket because of the tremendously higher yield of modern weapons. The enemy will likewise attempt to neutralize our military potential in the Far North. Initially he may attempt this neutralization with nuclear missiles. He may supplement his missile fire by limited air- and sea-borne attacks, submarine-borne patrols landed at night, guerrillas parachuted at night into sensitive areas, or by major air-borne and amphibious attacks to seize critical ports, bases, and centers of 42

FIGURE 8. Missile attack from the North. communications. Our military installations must be defended against all forms of attack. A large measure of this task will fall to the Army. The implication to the Army is obvious. The Army must be prepared to conduct offensive and defensive operations in the Far North. This capability should exist now to provide swift reaction in the early stages of a general war when control of our strategic outposts is essential. In improving its ability to fight in northern latitudes, other impor- tant advantages would accrue to the Army. These should not be over- looked : a. Enhance the Army's ability to operate in the more temperate zones. Consider winter warfare in the mountains of Western Europe, Northern Italy, Greece, Turkey, the Urals in Russia, the Himalayas separating China and India, and the mountains of Korea. The problems in these areas associated with extreme alti- tudes, weather, and climate; the undeveloped transportation and communication; and remoteness from source of supply are iden- tical with problems encountered in the Far North. b. Improve Army's ability to conduct a limited war. Experience of the last decade shows that the most likely locales for limited wars are the undeveloped countries around the periphery of the 43

Sino Soviet Bloc. By improving our ability to operate over the undeveloped areas of the north where primitive communications exist, the Army will enhance its ability to fight limited wars in other undeveloped areas. c. Provide an excellent area to test new equipment. Alaska has the terrain, climate, and environment found to a large degree in the northern areas of the Eurasian land mass. It is probable that major ground operations will, at some future date, be conducted on terrain similar to that found in the 49th State. An apprecia- tion of mobility, fire power, and communication problems that exist in the north is essential for the planning and development of material to be used by the Army of the future. Considered alone, these advantages provide adequate justification for improving the Army's ability to fight in northern latitudes. These are the implications of the strategic importance of the Far North! The Kind of an Army Program Needed An Army program is certainly needed! The following three-point program is recommended: I. Greater research and development effort and year-round testing of materiel under both winter and summer conditions. The most promising areas for improving the Army's operational capabilities is the development of specialized equipment. We need to increase the tactical mobility of the combat units and their necessary logistical support units. To do this, special equipment is needed. In his book "The Red Army" Liddell Hart states, "Hitler lost his chance of victory against Russia because the mobility of his Army was based on wheels instead of tracks." For ground mobility on the battlefield, we need improved tracked transportation with year-round mobility. The optimum tracked vehicle will negotiate the snow in winter, the water in the spring break-up, and the muskeg and rocks in the sum- mer. Allied with this problem of ground mobility is the need to develop navigational aids and techniques for movement across the uncharted wasteland of the north. Exploitation of the potentialities of air mobility for moving troops, equipment, and supplies promises to be a decisive factor in establishing supremacy in the north. We must develop equipment and techniques to capitalize on the mobility of Army aviation. For soldiers in any theater of operations, it is necessary to reduce the diversity, volume, and weight of clothing and equipment. It is of special importance to the soldier in the north because of the heavy clothing worn and the difficulty of moving over rugged terrain under adverse weather conditions. Progress in this area will not only enhance 44

soldier morale and efficiency but will also increase individual and unit mobility. Northern operations will be characterized by dispersion of units over vast areas, creating a communications problem. For adequate control of these units, radios of greater range, reduced weight, and increased reliability are needed. Ways must be found to increase battery life in sub-zero weather. Other important areas for research are employment of nuclear weapons, adequacy of conventional weapons, operational rations, re- supply techniques, and maintenance of all types of equipment. II. More rugged, realistic training in northern operations. Past maneuvers in Alaska have provided outstanding training for participating units from CONUS. The locale of these maneuvers has been in south and central Alaska. These exercises must be made progressively more difficult by conducting them in the Brooks Moun- tain Range, in the tundra of northern Alaska, and along the Arctic coast. The usual winter maneuvers reveal the obvious or superficial short- comings but are not long enough to uncover more fundamental weak- nesses and strengths in personnel, equipment, and doctrine. Annual expeditions of one or more months' duration should be conducted during the winter and summer. Movement of tactical units over the old pioneer sled trails from Fairbanks to Nome, from Nome to Point Barrow, and from Point Barrow to Fairbanks through the Anaktuvuk Pass in the Brooks Range is needed. Overland movement from Alaska across northern Canada to Greenland is recommended. The Army should seek to develop trained men and equipment by retracing Ad- miral Peary's route to the North Pole periodically. A hard core of expert mountain climbers must be trained. Training can be conducted on the many mountains in Alaska, with an ascent of Mount McKinley as the graduation exercise. Expeditions of this type would provide: (1) Superior training in land navigation, communications, resup- ply procedures, physical conditioning, living in the field, and small unit leadership. (2) Rugged test of equipment under prolonged stress more nearly approaching combat conditions. (3) Realistic test of tactics and techniques. III. Improved personnel procedures which will attract, motivate, and retain individuals trained in cold weather techniques. Quality rather than quantity must be the goal in training per- sonnel. With limited personnel ceilings and further cuts in prospect, a small number of highly trained individuals and units should be devel- oped to provide the nucleus for rapid expansion during mobilization 45

or "as forces in being" for immediate deployment to key strategic areas in event of war. This aim can be achieved as follows: 1. Designate the two battle groups in Alaska and one or two STRAC battle groups as "Ski and Mountain" units. The words "Ski and Mountain" should appear as part of the unit's designation to clearly identify it as a special unit. No major changes in organ- ization would be required. The battle groups would be issued the necessary specialized equipment. These "Ski and Mountain" battle groups would conduct annual maneuvers and expeditions in the Far North along the lines I have just suggested. They would do so periodically to attain the highest degree of individ- ual and unit proficiency and esprit. 2. Provide qualification badges for expert skiers and mountaineers. Why not give badges to recognize these skills which in some cases are more difficult to attain than badges currently author- ized for vehicle driving, marksmanship, parachuting, rangers, and explosive disposal? These badges, which are common in European armies, would: a. Provide incentives to achieve higher standards of individual skill. b. Develop pride by giving recognition to individuals achieving these standards. c. Facilitate mobilization and peacetime assignments to the "Ski and Mountain" units, the Army's Cold Weather and Mountain School, and to staffs of higher headquarters requir- ing their specialized knowledge—in the same manner para- chutists are assigned to air-borne units, the Air-borne School, and staffs of higher headquarters. 3. Expand and publicize the current program of screening incom- ing replacements having experience in the National Ski Associa- tion and the American Alpine Club and assigning them to Alaska upon completion of their basic training. 4. Permit repetitive assignments of personnel possessing skiing and mountaineering skills to Alaska or to other areas where these skills may be applied. The Army recognizes "MAN" as the ultimate and decisive weapon. These personnel procedures will attract, retain, and motivate the soldier to become more professionally skilled in the specialized tech- niques of northern operations. This three-point program is feasible and practical. With the acquisition of Ladd AFB at Fairbanks, Alaska, the Army now has facilities immediately available to support increased research and development activities in Alaska. The training program and personnel control procedures discussed above can be adopted within present personnel ceilings. The number of troops participating in the current maneuver program can be 46

reduced to permit execution of the revised program within the present budget. Examples of failures to prepare for northern operations can be found from the Napoleonic Wars to the Korean conflict. Adoption of such a program is necessary to insure the Army's readiness to meet the challenge of operating in the Far North in the missile age. Summary I. The Far North, including a large section of North America and Eurasia, is of great military significance in the missile age, par- ticularly as a strategic outpost in the initial stage of a general war. II. The Army must be prepared to conduct offensive and defensive operations in the Far North, since opposing forces will attempt to neutralize each other's military potential in the strategic outpost of the Arctic. This objective will be accomplished only when the army forces occupy the ground. III. The Army must have a program to improve its operational potential in the Far North—a realistic program that will prepare the Army to fight at any time or anywhere in the northern areas. Alaska can serve as the Army's testing and training ground to achieve this objective. Alaska, the Gibraltar of the North, is destined to play an increasingly important role in the strategic planning for the defense of the Free World. 47