Synopsis
If you find yourself stranded in the winter wilderness, how do you survive? This is an eventuality the UK troops that make up part of NATO’s multinational battlegroup in Estonia – with the United Kingdom as framework nation – train for on the Cold Weather Operator’s Course, which takes place every year in Estonia.
This NATO battlegroup also includes contributions from other NATO Allies, including Denmark, France and Iceland.
As part of the course, the soldiers must spend two nights in the Estonian forest learning how to build camps, make fires and find food and water. The course helps the soldiers adjust to different climates and terrains and makes sure they’re ready to operate in cold winter conditions.
Here, chief instructor Colour Sergeant Sykes of the UK Royal Marines gives his top tips for anyone thinking of heading out into the winter wilderness.
Transcript
--SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH)—
Colour Sergeant Sykes – Chief Instructor, Cold Weather Operator’s Course
“As a general rule of thumb, three days without water and three weeks without food. That’s probably as long as you’re looking to last without those vital necessities for life.”
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WINTER WILDERNESS
SURVIVAL
WITH UK TROOPS FROM
NATO’S BATTLEGROUP IN ESTONIA
--SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH)—
Colour Sergeant Sykes – Chief Instructor, Cold Weather Operator’s Course
“When we speak about survival, it’s highly dependent on the environment that you’re in.”
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SOLDIERS
LEARN WINTER
SURVIVAL SKILLS
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TO BETTER
DEFEND
THE ALLIANCE
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IN ALL
CONDITIONS
--SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH)—
Colour Sergeant Sykes – Chief Instructor, Cold Weather Operator’s Course
“These are a few basic top tips for how to sustain yourself in a cold weather environment.”
--SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH)—
Colour Sergeant Sykes – Chief Instructor, Cold Weather Operator’s Course
“Out here in Estonia, in the winter, the priority is going to be heat and shelter initially, followed by water and then food.”
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SHELTER
--SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH)—
Colour Sergeant Sykes – Chief Instructor, Cold Weather Operator’s Course
“The shelter, clearly you need to consider how many people need to be accommodated. The basic material you need to collect are logs to build a frame and then also plenty of brushwood to retain that heat.
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FIRE
--SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH)—
Colour Sergeant Sykes – Chief Instructor, Cold Weather Operator’s Course
“To start the fire you need some tinder, small combustible materials. Out here birch bark works particularly well even when wet. You then progress up to kindling, small sticks no thicker than a finger. You can then start to add on larger logs as fuel.”
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WATER
--SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH)—
Colour Sergeant Sykes – Chief Instructor, Cold Weather Operator’s Course
“Out here water is really easy to come by, so whether that’s by melting snow or finding some sort of water feature to collect and then boil, ensuring it’s safe.
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FOOD
--SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH)—
Colour Sergeant Sykes – Chief Instructor, Cold Weather Operator’s Course
“In terms of food, you firstly want to think about some sort of snare device to catch the small animal. Then you want to consider how you’re going to process it and cook it so it’s safe to eat.”
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KNOWLEDGE
--SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH)—
Colour Sergeant Sykes - Chief Instructor, Cold Weather Operator’s Course
“Prior to finding yourself in a survival situation, you want to try and arm yourself with as much knowledge as possible, reading books, researching what flora is actually edible out here in the wild.”
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TOOLS
--SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH)—
Colour Sergeant Sykes - Chief Instructor, Cold Weather Operator’s Course
“A few items to consider when operating in this environment are your flint and steel, to start a fire that will 100 per cent work all the time when wet. Secondly, items for cutting wood, so some form of small folding saw and also a small knife with which to process firewood.”
