It's going to be COLD next week

[clob94]

Ya...... I know. It's Texas. We're supposed to be tougher than the average bear. But even @GuaranteedFresh! doesn't like it when his toes get cold.......

I was laughing with one of my former teammates this morning about the coldest we've EVER been in our lives. We'd flown out of Austin on a December day when it was 70ish degrees- and we were headed to Canada to go to Saskatoon to deer hunt. Both of us were wearing cargo shorts, golf shirts, flip flops.... all our gear and guns stowed in the belly of the plane. (This was before smart phones)
We change planes and get on some puddle jumper and land in Saskatoon- they pull up to the airport-- no sky ramp- so we have to get out and walk a short way to the door.
A front had blown in- it's dark as hell and it was 20 something below zero. Not the wind chill-- The temperature. That 100 foot walk in cargo shorts and Birkenstocks was fvcking brutal.

So every time I'm somewhere at it gets cold and I want to internally b!tch and moan about being cold, I think to myself "I wonder how cold it is in Saskatoon right now?"

 

[txleapd]

When my unit unit returned from our first deployment to Okinawa it was in December. My flight was on a C-141 that had a layover in Anchorage. They decided to let us go into the terminal while they refueled and did some maintenance. Since the terminals couldn’t handle a C-141, we had to disembark on the flight line and walk. It was in the 70’s when we flew out of Japan, so our sleeves were rolled up and no one had a jacket. Most of us were also wearing jungle boots. They had to cut a path through the 4 feet of snow, so we could get from the plane to the terminal. It wasn’t the coldest I’ve ever been, but the instant shock from a going from a relatively warm climate to freaking Alaska in winter was absolutely miserable.

 

[clob94]

When my unit unit returned from our first deployment to Okinawa it was in December. My flight was on a C-141 that had a layover in Anchorage. They decided to let us go into the terminal while they refueled and did some maintenance. Since the terminals couldn’t handle a C-141, we had to disembark on the flight line and walk. It was in the 70’s when we flew out of Japan, so our sleeves were rolled up and no one had a jacket. Most of us were also wearing jungle boots. They had to cut a path through the 4 feet of snow, so we could get from the plane to the terminal. It wasn’t the coldest I’ve ever been, but the instant shock from a going from a relatively warm climate to freaking Alaska in winter was absolutely miserable.

A C-141??
Fvvvvvvvck you're old. Didn't those things stop flying in the 70s? I bet that was like flying in a giant vibrating freight train dildo.

Did all the cool kids get to ride in the C-17s?

 

[Oldmanastro]

Bastogne. Band of Brothers. That was freaking cold. Tough dudes.

 

[clob94]

Bastogne. Band of Brothers. That was freaking cold. Tough dudes.

I read an article posted by the Associated Press- who had reporters embedded with those boys- and the reality was (gasp) that it wasn't THAT cold. It was cold..... the temp hung at around 20 degrees for days. But that wasn't why those guys were cold. There was a foot of snow on the ground. But that wasn't why they were cold either. They weren't allowed to start any fires to warm themselves. But that wasn't why they were so cold.

They were cold because all they had on were their standard issue GI battle gear. They had no coats. They had no winter underwear. No fresh socks. No gloves. They were wearing (essentially) the same type of uniform the marines were wearing 10,000 miles away in the sweltering heat in the south pacific.

So ya- it was fvcking cold. Don't get me wrong. But it's romanticized that it was 30 below zero and artic tundra conditions. Go stand outside this Monday in a long sleeve shirt and some khaki pants and that's it- and see how long it takes you to say "uncle". Now imagine being down in a hole, snow falling on you- artillery falling on you, and German snipers whizzing rounds by the head of anybody that moves....... fvck ya I bet it was cold...... and miserable.