It was 1 of the most demanding trainings we had in our brigade. We are arrogant of the soldiers who have chosen them," says Captain Marta Gaborek, press officer of the 2nd Lublin Territorial Defence Brigade. 20 soldiers and officers of the Border defender were practicing in utmost conditions over the Janowski Basin, learning to prevent hypothermia among others.
Piotr Marczewski is simply a endurance teacher and expert in countering hypothermia, who broke the Guinness evidence in relay morsification. Known for its utmost challenges, the 40-year-old besides serves as an teacher in the 10th Świętokrzyska Brigade of Territorial Defence. It was to him that the Lublin territorials applied to prepare and train them from hypothermia. “Our soldiers must face hard conditions during winter field training and during border service, and their safety is most crucial to us, hence the thought for specified training”, says Captain Marta Gaborek, press officer of the 2nd Lublin OT Brigade.
20 people took part in the training, which took place in late January, including officers of the Perbuzhian Border defender Division safety Department. – Only 2 people failed for wellness reasons or injury. And the conditions were truly hard – Captain Gaborek adds. At first, the soldiers had theoretical classes introducing hypothermia. During the lectures they learned basic issues related to cooling of the body, accompanying chemical processes, thermoregulation, rescue and alleged authoritarianism. So prepared they could go to the applicable part which began at the flood in Janów Lubelski.
Wet, cold, getting colder
Dream and tell how he feels? This challenge was faced by a soldier who volunteered to introduce himself to hypothermia. “It was a individual who had no experience of walrusing, and had never entered the water before in winter,” says Captain Gaborek. And he admits that this was about making the exercises as real as possible. A soldier immersed in water recounted his symptoms, how he feels, what happens to his body. This allowed the another participants to prepare for what was waiting for them in a moment. The full body was supervised by a paramedic who, after taking a chilled soldier out of the water, conducted an ECG to show what was happening to the body in a state of hypothermia. Then the hardest part of training began.
The soldiers were somewhat amazed erstwhile it turned out that in their backpacks there could only be a endurance set for lighting fire, spare uniform, underwear, sleeping bag and water. Food and all accessories to make it easier to last under hard conditions had to be given away. So are the spare shoes. – This was the first surprise, which was besides the first task. Trainers had to go to their knees in the water and from that minute until the training ended they kept walking in wet shoes," the spokeswoman says. specified a situation would force them to check the known illness prevention techniques known as “the trench foot”.
But it was only the beginning of an adventure with water. During training, soldiers entered the water respective more times. due to the fact that they didn't know the program, they never knew what was coming. erstwhile the time came for further tasks, they had to light the fire utilizing a endurance kit, then spread it to pieces and fold the MSBS Grot rifles at the set time. It might seem that these are trivially simple activities that soldiers have practiced many times. But this time, the frozen, wet, and scraped hands were doing much worse. And only after this task could they get warm and rest.
Resistance and cooperation test
The remainder was not long and shortly the participants of the training marched on the azimut. By transporting an “injured”, or 80-kilogram ballast, they had to find hidden elements of the camp and food lockers in the forest. After everything had been completed, you had to build a lodging base, light a fire and get water. Food rations are planned to be about 120 kcal per person. specified a modest condition had to suffice for a full day of intense effort – it was an additional component that allowed to check the functioning of the body in an utmost situation. Again a short remainder and another km of march. All in all, the soldiers went about 30 km. And at the end, there was another twenty-minute... water immersion.
– They were exhausted, but at this phase they had already assured that they could now last much longer in the water. The body is getting utilized to utmost conditions and this is what the teacher wanted to show them, says Captain Gaborek. “I hope that the soldiers not only enriched their cognition of hypothermia, rescue and survival, but besides had the chance to overcome their own weaknesses,” Piotr Marczewski added. Besides, they showed up as a good team. Anyone who had a worse minute could number on backup. If individual couldn't cope with the backpack, his colleagues helped him carry his things, says the brigade spokesperson.
Hypothermia is simply a life-threatening condition that occurs erstwhile body temperature falls below 35°C. It may origin prolonged vulnerability to cold or contact with cold water. Hypothermia is simply a dangerous opponent of soldiers, e.g. during winter field training or hours of patrols at the border. Therefore, as the commanders emphasize, soldiers request to know the symptoms of utmost cooling and how to aid themselves and others in specified a threat.
