Sunday, January 8, 2012

Cold & Bears.

This is coolbert:

"The world's only military dogsled team."

The most recent edition of the National Geographic containing an article with a definite military dimension to it.

"The Cold Patrol".

The Danish military dogsled patrolling unit Sirius!

Danish military two-man buddy team conducting sovereignty patrol [SOVPAT] in the very northeastern corner of Greenland.

A mission of patrolling thousands of kilometers of coastline, establishing sovereignty by actually touching land and contiguous ice-covered waters once every five years as agreed upon by internationally agreed upon covenants.

SOVPAT as also currently done by the military units of:

* Canada.
* Australia.

Buddy teams performing hard and dangerous and very physically taxing duty under the most difficult of climatic conditions. Danger even in peacetime and a non-combat situation from factors such as the weather, terrain, and attack by the great white bear of the north, the polar bear. That buddy team armed at all times and constantly on alert - - aware of the danger as presented by an attacking polar bear!

Missions also commencing during that period of mid-winter WHEN THE CLIMATE IS AT THE WORST! Ease of transport across the frozen pack ice of the sea making for movement across normally impassable terrain possible!!

The selection process to become a member of the Sirius unit most meticulous and exacting, a training process of eight months required prior to deployment. Training to include the mastering of a whole range of esoteric skills:

* "Outdoor survival".
* "Meteorology".
* "Hunting skills".
* "Veterinary medicine".
* Memorize map features of importance.

Those outdoor survival skills I would assume not only being able to withstand the cold and function with vigor but able to forage off the land and sea if necessary. That land and sea provides for men and dogs both if one possesses the right amount of knowledge and skill. What appears to be a GOD-forsaken wasteland is actually alive with all manner of creature that can be eaten. Animals as a food source to include:

* Fish.
* Seal.
* Sea birds. [taste like fish]
* Sea bird eggs. [taste like fish too?]
* Musk ox.
* Polar bear. [the hunter becomes the hunted.]

[polar bears can be shot and eaten but not the liver. That liver contains excess amounts of vitamin A and is dangerous to the point of death if consumed!]

To the greatest extent possible, the Sirius unit relies upon the old ways? Natural materials, clothing, wooden sled, dogs for transport, etc. A Sirius buddy team is more or less totally autonomous and reliant upon themselves in a manner few other persons on the planet ever experience.

coolbert.

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