USMC-4 ARCTIC DECADES OF GEAR & CLOTHING IN NORWAY

[Mercenary25]

Cool thread. You need to display modern Marines with cool snow MARPAT.

[msgt norway]

modern marines wil come soon:)

 

cheers ken,norway

[msgt norway]

USMC in norway 2012

 

 

 

 

 

as you can see, the new snow camouflage sett marpat snow

new cold weather cap in flecce,new mittens by OR.

the new large ruck sack.

but the vb boots are stil used since the marines favor them in cold weather

before leather boots.

 

cheers ken,norway

[msgt norway]

and a few more in combat setting 2012

 

 

 

in 2012 the marines did use the marpat desert cover on their kevlars,why?

most of them came from duty in iraq and straigth to norway

 

cheers ken,norway

[Mercenary25]

Cool pics! In 2010 execrise, Marines were seen wearing 80's plain white helmet covers with their new snow MARPAT overalls.

 

You might want to do '99 display. They worn 80's white overalls with woodland FLC system.

 

http://www.defense.gov/photos/newsphoto.aspx?newsphotoid=1838

[msgt norway]

yes i would like to do a 99 but i dont have the molle woodlandsett yet

and i still looking for the snowshoes they used that time..

 

so if any have something for sale lett me know!

 

and thank you al for the nice feedback and feel free to do arctic displays here to.

 

cheers from ken,norway

[msgt norway]

but i have a few pictures with the lbv and the new al nylon snow camies

and the USMC goretex jacket.goretex leather boots.

 

 

 

 

cheers ken,norway

[MWalsh]

Nice thread, and a topic little is seen about.

USMC RECON, I think I was at McCoy about the same time as you in that February 1989 time frame, I did it as a reservist. There was a unit of tracks there, from Lejeune, no idea what unit, but man those guys could sling those things around in the snow and on the ice. I do not recall any non-armor Marines there at the time, you may have been gone by the time we were there. The tracks had come to Fort McCoy by rail, I remember the drivers literally sliding them sideways on the ice, handling them quite deftly, sliding and straightening the things out as well as any NASCAR driver who spins or slides a car and then saves it. It was a heck of a ride in the back!

The two things I remember most about the cold weather training that year and other years were the Ahkio sleds and the MRE's. The sleds were unique, we would switch out positions usually, but they worked very well but took some getting used to depending on terrain as you really had to work as a team the harder the terrain got. We never used article canteens either, just turned the regular ones upside down. The other big thing was the cold weather MRE's, very few people have ever heard of them or used them. I liked them but they did require more prep time since they were all non-liquid to avoid them freezing. I recall that the cold weather MRE's, when eaten in their entirety, contained more than twice the calories that regular MRE's had, just to make up for the high calorie need and output due to the temps and exertion required in snow.

USMC RECON - I assume you too had a stove private? We'd take our knuckleheads and make them learn to set up and start the stoves since by the end of the training period they ended up black and sooty as can be.

Our gear was always shipped in from the USMC logistics depot or base at Albany, I recall it was all good gear to use. Some of our Marines got lucky and got slots at Bridgeport, some had done shots to Norway, others got really lucky and got to go to Ontario and do cold weather training with the Canadian Army. Norway was always going to be a USMC show mainly as I recall, I think when things heated up in the Middle East in 1990 the USMC sort of lost sight of that focus for a time.

Being a bunch of Minnesota and Wisconsin boys, the cold weather stuff was always fun, a bit of a lark for us as so many were used to hunting and fishing I. The cold and winter, snowmobiling, skiing, sledding, etc. Getting paid to do it was fun

Great thread! I have pics too, I will dig them out and post them if I have time, they are circa 1988-1992.

[msgt norway]

MWalsh: thank you for realy cool info!! and yes dig out our photos

 

and here is a few pictures of the Ahkio sleds

 

 

 

 

cheers ken,norway

[msgt norway]

and here are mres MWalsh is talking about,hope the pictures bring back some memories for you:)

the military name for them is rcw=ration cold weather. this ration on pictures are from the 1980s and 1992.

 

 

 

 

 

these survival cans was also something we used to gett from the marines after they came ashore with the amtracks and other truck

i gott a few in my collection and can still remember the taste of the cornflake bar.

 

cheers ken,norway

[MWalsh]

Hah! Yes, those are the rations! They were actually good, I never minded the oatmeal bars, some hated them! The trail mix was always something everyone like too. For me the trail mix in the winter MRE's was the first time I had ever eaten the stuff.

 

And yes, that is the sled! I recall that one was usually used to pack the stove and the round artic tent, the others carried other gear we brought along, five gallon water cans, ammo cans, packs, MRE's, stove fuel, etc. I want to say that we had three or four per platoon max was all, but our platoon sizes were small and we were not out for weeks at a time so we traveled light.

 

I will try and get my pics as time allows.

[msgt norway]

and here is more from the ration cold weather:

 

the 2 top pictures is from the 1992 rcw

 

the next pictures are from the 1980s rcw

 

 

and here is the different drink mixes from the 2 different rcw.

 

al the pictures was made when i did a taste test on these rations to see if they was stil edible,

and yes they where stil good.

 

and since we are talking about rations used by the USMC in norway i wil post the other rations to

cheers ken,norway

[msgt norway]

here are some pictures of the first run of trail mres that the marines tested in norway,time period 1978 to 1980

 

 

this one is in my private collection:

 

 

 

and yes they did contain smokes and gun cleaning patches.

 

some instructions on how to use and rate the ration

 

 

these rations are realy hard to find today since they was made in smal numbers for testing,so if anyone have other like this

and or the transport case for it please post pictures.

 

cheers ken,norway

[msgt norway]

Here is a USMC manual i have had since 1988

 

 

and a smal tc about cold weather from 1986(185pages)

 

the big manual has a lot of information about cold weather gear,tents,stove,cold medics,weapons and much more(203 pages)

 

cheers ken,norway

[msgt norway]

and here a few pictures of the marines and me in norway when i was a kid.

my brother to the left and me to the rigth visiting the exersice Teamwork 1984
the marines name is 1st LT Mark Thomas ---anyone know him?

 

and here a polariod a marine made of my 2 brithers and my dad

visiting the big canons at the same exersice

 

cheers ken,norway

[USMC-RECON0321]

USMC RECON, I think I was at McCoy about the same time as you in that February 1989 time frame, I did it as a reservist.

 

USMC RECON - I assume you too had a stove private? We'd take our knuckleheads and make them learn to set up and start the stoves since by the end of the training period they ended up black and sooty as can be.

 

Being a bunch of Minnesota and Wisconsin boys, the cold weather stuff was always fun, a bit of a lark for us as so many were used to hunting and fishing I. The cold and winter, snowmobiling, skiing, sledding, etc. Getting paid to do it was fun

 

 

 

Yes, we must have been there about the same time then. Our Battalion (2/2) spent the month of January, 1989 in Bridgeport Ca. then the month of February in Fort McCoy Wis. and the month of March in Norway. I would say out of the 3 locations, Fort McCoy was the coldest. There was very little snow, but below zero temps and without the snow it was hard to get any insulation from the ground and seemed to just suck the heat right out of you!!!

 

We did see reservist come in at each phase of the training for just the one phase and then go home while we moved on to the next one. I remember by the time we got to the 3rd and final phase in Norway, most of our equipment, tents, clothing, boots etc... was worn out, zippers didn't work on our gortex, boots were cracked or torn, fingers worn out in gloves or holes in our mittens etc. and this new group or reservist showed up looking brand new and happy and we just wanted to go raid their supplies the first night!!

 

And as you said, being a Marine from Michigan, I was pretty prepared for cold weather but the guys in our unit from the south had a miserable time!

 

Troy

[msgt norway]

today :skies and other handy arctic gear used by the marines,also adding a few pictures of recon used gear.

 

first out the shoot of the skies and snow shoes:

 

woodland goretex gloves

 

 

the liners,1991

 

goretex woodland gaitors,confirmd usmc used item.

 

 

 

cheers ken,norway

[msgt norway]

i forgot the famus olive drab wool shirt used a lot in norway since 1960s to late 1980s.

in this picture :wool shirt olive drab,m65 cold weather trousers,black vapor barrier boots used down to -20 degrees F

black knitted wool cap,wool gloves.

 

and a close up,oh and the bcg...

 

cheers ken,norway

[USMC-RECON0321]

Love the BCG's!!

[msgt norway]

yea they look cool,but i dont have the black framed ones that i also remember being used by marines in norway.

 

USMC-0321: did you use the mountain pan sett in norway or did you only use the canteen cups?

and do you remember what type of fuel bottles used?

 

ken,norway

[msgt norway]

today its time for the arctic canteens:

the one to the left is canadian made but used by the usmc recon in 1995,a smal group of marines was

at bardufoss for training with the royal marines.everyone in the usmc group had these canteens.

the one to the rigth are regular us issue.

 

next is a canteen that was used in smal numbers:

 

 

 

its 1993 issue but i didnt see those used in norway before 1996.

 

next is a or made pouch for the nalgene bottle.close to the 8points

tag says: sg water bottle parka.1ltr mil

used in norway from about 2010

 

cheers ken,norway

[msgt norway]

amtrac comander in norway 1980s

 

 

and some pictures of the marpat goretex sett used in cold weather

 

 

and amtrac comander in the 1990s

 

 

cheers ken,norway

 

still looking for more pictures of usmc in cold weather training

[msgt norway]

i was wondering if any of you marines or maybe know a marine that will attend the

anual exersice :cold response 2014 here in norway (march month)??

 

and im still looking for cool arctic pictures,state side or norway:)

clothing and gear pictures are also welcome:)

 

cheers ken,norway

[USMC-RECON0321]

i was wondering if any of you marines or maybe know a marine that will attend the

anual exersice :cold response 2014 here in norway (march month)??

 

cheers ken,norway

 

Well luckily not me this time, But... Michigan isn't looking much better at the moment! at least I'm sleeping inside now.

 

 

Troy

[msgt norway]

Hello troy!

 

yes you gott snow and cold weather in the usa to,been watching the news latly

and its still gona be cold for a period...

But i guess you can handle the cold my friend?

 

stay warm! cheers ken