Siachen.

This is coolbert:

Here is a battleground where that inhaled drug, as currently being developed by Darpa, could be field tested, the efficacy of the chemical being instantly proven or disproven - - an aid to troops working and fighting in a high mountainous combat zone.

Siachen glacier.




A massive field of ice, at high altitude in the Karakorum mountain range, just southeast of K2 [second highest peak in the world], referred to by those in the know as the 3rd Pole!!

"Siachen is the world’s largest non-polar glacier, and thus is sometimes referred to as the third pole."

NOT ONLY "world’s largest non-polar glacier" but also located at high altitude [5500 to 7300 m (18,000 to 24,000 feet)].

Exactly on the border [??] between Pakistan and India, Kashmiri territory claimed by both nations since independence was achieved from Britain over sixty years ago now. Claims, territorial, never resolved, conflict occurring from time to time over Kashmir a constant sore point between two nations NOW NUCLEAR POWERS!

Intermittent combat taking place on the glacier and the surrounding mountains since 1984, about 4,000 soldiers killed total combined, the glacier now having a known armed military presence year-round, a WAR ZONE!!

Warfare occurring well beyond was is called the "Dead Zone". That altitude [14,000 feet/meters] beyond which human life is UNSUSTAINABLE!! NO matter what measures are taken, humans living within the dead zone suffer sure but steady deterioration of their bodies, mentally and physically, a person NEVER BEING ABLE TO BECOME ACCUSTOMED TO LIFE AT THAT ALTITUDE!!

As with jungle warfare, most casualties as suffered by the combatants on the Siachen glacier are of a NON-COMBAT nature. Cold, altitude sickness, avalanche, accidental fall from precipitous heights, etc.

Troops to operate in such an environment needing special equipment, training, experience, and the appropriate mental wherewithal.

A three month deployment and duty on Siachen being deemed as the MAXIMUM possible for a soldier - - the physical and mental breakdown of the troop beyond that point rendering a man ineffective!!

Comments:

* The Kashmir "situation" has festered without amelioration for over sixty years now! NEVER will be resolved in a peaceful manner? Kashmir is one of those intractable problems that only warfare can resolve?

* Troops [Indian and Pakistani both] deploying from a tropical climate to Siachen must undergo a traumatic shock of the worst possible sort? Mental preparedness in such situations is a MUST!

* Those borders between Pakistan, India, China were never successfully surveyed and agreed upon. The chickens have come to roost. Trouble is, chickens can never live at that altitude, and neither can people!

coolbert.