Since Afghanistan is land-locked (surrounded by land) it is known to have wide temperature fluctuations between day and night and among the seasons too. In the winter months (Nov. - March) Northerly winds flows south from Russia, bringing blizzards, freezing rain, lashing winds and blankets of snow. These conditions can easily close supply-routes and causes helicopter crashes. In Kabul, snow can accumulate up to 25 inches and temperatures average in the upper 30's during the day and low 20's at nightfall, with records lows of 24 below zero.In the mountain area's like the Hindu Kush and the Pamir Mountains they experience heavy snowfalls and temps plummet to 40 below zero. In the northeastern area the terrain is especially difficult because the region is a maze of narrow, steep, jagged mountain valleys, ideal for ambushes and only accessible by foot. The conditions in the south is a little more favorable, temperatures usually stay above freezing.

High mountain passes make supply routes tortuous when it comes to driving.The air is also thinner making it much more difficult on the helicopters. With blizzards, high winds and sub-zero temperatures boost stress, on helicopter airframes and propellers can ice over and endanger flight crews. Whiteouts occur more in the winter time as well causing crashes.Pilots will find visibility poor, targets on the ground will be easily hidden in deep drifts of snow as well.
Soldiers and Marines have trudged through up to seven feet of snow on patrols day in and day out often at altitudes of 7,000 feet and higher. Military operations occurring over 6,000 feet can be dangerous because of low levels of oxygen. Also alitutude sickness also known as mountain sickness can occur, which can cause nose bleeds, trigger migraines and in some cases it can cause HACE - High Altitude Cerebral edema (swelling of the brain) and HAPE - High Alititude Pulmonary Edema ( fluids in the lungs).

Hypothermia - It is a life threatening reality and a medical emergency. Hypothermia sets in when a person experiences body heat loss and temperature falls below 95 degrees. Symptom's are shivering, drowsy, dizzy, irritability, confusion and slowed or slurred speech. They may also have altered vision and experience stumbling.In severe cases however, the shivering stops, strong desire to sleep, the breathing and heartbeat is faint causing unconsciousness and death. The best treatment for hypothermia is prevention. Number 1 on the list is eat properly and eat often. Your daily calorie count might be normally 2,500 calories. When you are put into a terrain such as Afghanistan in the winter, your daily food intake should be between 4,000 - 4,500 calories a day. Number 2 on the list of prevention is to stay hydrated, warm liquids and water. That's when an aluminum canteen and waterproof matches comes in handy. (Keep in mind a packet of instant coco or hot tea will be an added benefit .) Number 3 is wear your uniform properly with layers warn loosely. Keep active, stay dry, and a buddy watch or observation is always good. If treatment is needed, you will want to prevent the victim from further cold exposure, remove wet clothing and replace with dry clothing, blankets or even a sleeping bag. If you use a sleeping bag place another person in there for an addition source of heat. If they are conscious encourage them to drink warm, sweet liquids. If the person becomes unconscious, minimize handling to help prevent a heart attack. ALWAYS call for emergency help right away and get victim evacuated.

Frostbite - It occurs at air temps below 32 degrees and the skin will freeze at 28 degrees. Frostbite can be diagnosed either as mild to severe, which is freezing of skin and flesh and it may even include the bone. Your hands, fingers, feet, toes, nose, chin, ears and groin area is the most vulnerable to be affected. When skin is frostbitten you will see redness in light skin or grayish in dark color skin. It will cause a stinging and tingling sensation, may become numb, stiffness and cold to the touch, in more serious cases blisters may develop. If someone falls victim to frostbite you will want to remove that person from the cold and prevent any other heat loss. Remove any clothing and jewelry that is constricting. Rewarm the affected area evenly with body heat until the pain returns, when it hurts its un-thawed and it does hurt !! Keep in mind however do Not rewarm a frostbite injury if it could possibly refreeze during evacuation. You also don't want to massage affected parts or rub snow on it as, old wives tale's say. Prevention once again is the way to go. Wear uniform and protective gear properly and keep layers loose. Keep dry, especially your socks. Poly pro/thermax liner socks are recommended as well as foot powder and changing insoles often. Protect your skin from the wind and flying snow, keep your face and ears covered and dry, eat often and drink hot fluids. Keep active and have a buddy system.

Most people think dehydration is a summer problem, however the chances increase in the winter. People don't tend to drink as much in the winter because the hormone that triggers our sense of thirst reacts differently when they are exposed to the cold. Symptoms to watch for is, dry/sticky mouth, muscle weakness, headache, light-headed-ness, dizziness, lack of sweating, little or no urination. Higher altitudes also can cause dehydration because the air is so dry. In the winter our bodies work harder, in fact normally people will lose about 1 - 2 quarts of water a day via evaporation from the lungs. Rule of thumb says drink 4 quarts of water a day, however people will drink twice that under high exertion levels or over 10,000 feet of altitude. Dehydration also increases the chances of hypothermia and frostbite. It has been known that soldier's have actually had to use IV's to stay hydrated when water supplies have run low. Dehydration is serious and can be life threating.

The Service dog's that are deployed suffer from hypothermia and frostbite just like their human companion's. For frostbite some of the symptoms will be, ice on it's body or limbs, shivering and tissues that are bright red followed by a pale color. Hypothermia will occur when its body temp goes below 37.5, a dogs normal temp is 38.5 C. Those signs will be shivering and weakness. In either cases you want to get the dog out of the cold and into a warmer environment. wrap the dog up in blankets and get it to a vet promptly.

Chilblains - A person can fall victim to chilblains if they have exposed bare skin in wet and cold conditions within just a few hours. The ears, cheeks, nose, hands and feet are the most vulnerable. Initially the skin will be colorless or pale looking. It will develop into a prickly sensation that aches and then turns numb. The skin will be swollen and red, itchy, hot and tender as it rewarms. In severe cases it will blister. Medical treatment must be sought, take the victim out of the cold to prevent further exposure. Wash and dry gently. Rewarm by using body heat and apply dry sterile dressing to the injury. Again don't rub or massage area, it only causes further damage.

Trench Foot - This injury is resulting from prolonged exposure to wet and cold temperatures that are just above freezing. It is potentially crippling although the tissue is not frozen. Your skin will appear wet, white, soggy and shriveled. sensations begin with tingling of pins and needles, followed by numbness then pain again. Skin can become discolored turning red, blueish or black. It will also be cold to the touch, swollen with a waxy appearance. May develop blisters that bleed, in extreme cases, the flesh will die and gangrene sets in.

Snow Blindness is also a problem, a painful problem. It is caused by exposure of unprotected eyes to the (UV) ultraviolet rays reflecting off the snow which causes a sunburn to your eye's. Fresh snow reflects about 80% of UV radiation, compared to sand that reflects only 15%, that's a big difference. Also did you know as you reach higher elevations the intensity of the UV rays increases, for about every thousand feet it increase the rays by 4%.

The snow blindness or sunburn to the cornea may go unnoticed for hours before symptoms appear. Some of the symptoms may include, your eye's feeling irritated and dry, swelling, redness on the eyelid's, In serve cases permanent eye loss can happen. The golden rule here is preventive measure's. It is recommended to use sunglasses that absorb almost all UV rays, they also should have large lenses and side shields to avoid incidental light exposure. Another fact to remember is that even on grey day's UV rays can pass through clouds, infact that's when it ocurs the most.

If someone falls victim to snow blindness treatment is to treat the pain with topical anesthetics in eye drops, cold compresses, staying in a dark environment if possiable and wearing the sun glasses at all times during the healing process.

In emergency situations and you need protection for your eye's and don't have sunglasses, emergency goggles can always be made by using a dark cloth that is long enough to wrap around your head and tied. Once you determine where your eye's will match up to the cloth cut 1/4 slits going side to side for each eye area. Also to reflect the sun away from your eyes its recommended that you blacken the area of skin below your eye's with charcoal.

This winter it is predicted that 9 million, more than a quarter of the population will be facing hunger due to food shortages. This was brought about by last winters weather, It was the harshest winter they ever had, followed by a devastating drought across much of the country. “Time is running out to avert a humanitarian crisis,” according to The British charity Oxfam. Agriculture is a vital lifeline for the stability of Afghanistan. If left unable to feed themselves and their families the easier it is for the Taliban to recruit them, just as easy as it is for Al Qaeda to recruit returning refugees. Locals have stated that in 30 years of war they have never seen it this bad before, they also say they will have to return to the towns to look for work. That will entice Taliban's to attack even more. The security is already bad there, but adding hunger to the problem will just make security that much harder to obtain. Development officials say that the deteriorating security has brought about an increasing number of attacks on Aid workers.

Food and our Troop's,....

I am concerned that many of our troops are not going to get the proper nutrients they need. I have seen an increase of "shout-outs" from our Service Member's pleading for more supplies. A U.S.Marine had mentioned they needed and I quote, " bread, bullets and band-aides." The British soldiers are also sending "Shout-Out's" One British soldier stated and I quote,“There’s nothing the soldiers can do about it and it seems that once they’re out there they are just forgotten about" http://tinyurl.com/lev6rs These kind of comments piss me off, Never should they be forgotten about and Never should they be going with out !!! Winter is approaching fast and these Service Members are going to be facing 2 battle's, one with the Tali bans and the other battle, Mother Nature in the most extreme ways.

Some winter time ideas are:

Disposable toe or hand warmers

Rubber black tarp straps for the tire chains and tarps on top of the vehicles

Sun screen lotion and Chapstick

Instant - oatmeal, coffee and coco

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