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MW SME Exchange of Information Seminar September 2017 NATO MOUNTAIN WARFARE CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE Report on the testing of selected items of personal protective equipment against falls from a height and techniques employed in mountain warfare NATO MOUNTAIN WARFARE CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE Contents Excerpt 5 1 Introduction 7 Standardized safety 7 State of development of mountain warfare techniques within NATO and Slovenia 8 On the seminar 8 The purpose of the seminar and its main goals 8 Learning objectives 9 State of the art 10 2 Methodology 10 3 Results 12 Temporary anchoring 12 Lifelines 16 Traverse lines 26 Low-stretch rope main line 28 Full Dyneema rope main line 30 Ascent and descent on ropes 33 Few tests of falls in lead climbing 37 Abbreviations 41 List of Figures 41 List of Tables 41 References 42 Appendix 1 – Knots testing results 43 Appendix 2 – Seminar field Testing results 55 Appendix 3 – Conclusions and recommendations 77 This is a product of the NATO Mountain Warfare Centre of Excellence (NATO MW COE). It is produced for NATO, NATO member coun- tries, NATO partners, related private and public institutions and related individuals. It does not represent the opinions or policies of NATO or NATO MW COE. © All rights reserved by the NATO MW COE. This product may not be copied, reproduced, distributed or publicly displayed without reference to the NATO MW COE and the respective publication.” Photos: NATO MW COE archive or respective authors, as indicated. 4 Report on the testing of selected items of personal protective equipment against falls from a height and of techniques employed in NATO mountain warfare1 Excerpt This report was made possible by the NATO Mountain Warfare Centre of Excellence and its upcoming seminar on entiteled MW SME Exchange of information. To date quite a lot of various types of testing has been performed from the eighties onwards on mountaineering equipment with the aim of evaluation of its safety and effectiveness. There was, however, comparatively little testing done with army mountain troops specific needs in mind. Contrary to the trends in leisure mountain activities, they often have to carry heavy packs and often form larger groups. On the other hand, swift and agile movement is an important factor in soldier’s safety. This acted as an impetus to start thinking about partially alleviating the soldier of the heavy burden. At the same time an assessment of the safety of the established techniques was performed. The series of tests grouped into five larger sections: temporary anchoring, lifelines, traverse lines, ascent and descent on ropes, and falls in lead climbing. The extent of testing planned did, not allow for larger replication. Inference is therefore limited to descriptive statistics and point data. Keywords: personal protective equipment, equipment testing, mountain warfare, weight reduction. 1This report is based on “Report on the testing of selected items of personal protective equipment against falls from a height and of techniques employed in NATO mountain warfare” done by Mr. Miha Staut, Anthron d.o.o. and Mr. Jaka Petruša, Anthron d.o.o. 5 1 Introduction Elevated terrain exists in almost every country of the world and to date populations settled almost every mountain range emerging above sea level around the globe. Despite concentrating in the valleys and therefore being more isolated, distinct populations sustained relations between themselves with their high and low moments. In its worst manner, conflict (non)solving recurred to violence. The era of colonization saw large world empires sizing even for previously unsettled lands like the polar regions of the Earth where the environment is of similar character as in the mountains. Mountain tops often act not only as natural divides but also ethnic and national borders with strategic significance to safety. Patrolling and battling consequently often takes place right there, in one of the most hostile and dangerous en- vironments on the planet. Dangers, therefore, do not stem only from the dangers of the warfare itself but just as well from the environment where it takes place. They range from rough and precipitous terrain to, extremely in- hospitable climate with potential extremes in temperature, abundant precipitation often falling in the form of snow or hail, thunderstorms with lightning, quick changes of weather, strong and gusty winds as well as lack of available water, rock fall and snow avalanches. In terms of travel through mountainous terrain a mountaineer has to master movement over rough terrain and various types of snow where a slip or triggering an avalanche may be fatal. In glaciated mountains additional dangers are presented by glacier travel and their creeping movement down the slopes and valleys. Being equipped for all the challenges of the mountain terrain itself often involves carrying a lot of specific mountain equipment making life in the mountains easier and travel safer. Added to that, a soldier has to transport means for combat. Swift and agile movement, so praised by the mountain troops, is therefore often hampered by the amount of equipment they have to bring along. Lighter means faster and less strenuous. A rested soldier acts and thinks better and quicker. Standardized safety Not only that all the amount of equipment is bulky and cumbersome, but most of it has to comply with some sort of standardization. It ranges from standards internal to specific mountain troops with their specific lists of equip- ment and procedural guidelines to more general standards imposed either by the organizations the army makes part of (e.g. NATO) or national and international standards bound to user safety and functionality. Within the European Union all merchandise is subject to laws of consumer safety and mountaineering equipment as part of the personal protective equipment (in further text PPE) might represent the acme of that. Its conformity with the European legislation is demonstrated by the label C which guarantees the equipment has passed the scrutiny of a notified body according to the tests set within the European norms relevant for particular types of equipment. At this point the European legislation makes an exception about combat applications which are exempt from the relevant legislation (Official Journal of the European Communities, 1989; Official Journal of the European Com- munities, 2016). Besides the fact that army equipment is subject to other regulations, the rationale behind this ex- emption states that in life threatening situations safety factors related to fall from a height might be lowered due to imminent danger present from other factors. In such highly stressful and risky situations, however, people are prone to make mistakes. That is why, despite non-conformity with national and international laws of consumer safety, this equipment has to demonstrate reliability and predictability of use within a-priori set safety factors re- lated to devices themselves and to organization’s procedural safety. 7 NATO MOUNTAIN WARFARE CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE State of development of mountain warfare techniques within NATO and Slovenia Nowadays, operations take place in different environments, including mountainous areas. These operations fall in to three distinct categories namely: combat operations, security operations and military assistance. These three categories require specific training, readiness, technical skills and specific equipment, as well as unambiguous ap- proach in terms of doctrine and tactics. Combat in mountainous areas presents units with complicated and ever-shifting hazards, difficulties, opportunities, and risks. Mountain combat calls for extreme physical fitness, mental toughness, endurance, and the utmost in tactical and technical proficiency on the part of all individuals. The use of small Task Elements in a compartmented area, often self-sufficient is a trademark in MW. A disciplined and prepared Infantry rifle company that is task-or- ganized with and supported by the other members of the combined arms team is the key to a successful mountain operation. A unit fighting in the mountains must overcome difficulties, measure risks, and exploit opportunities to close with the enemy and defeat him and well-prepared commanders anticipate, understand, and adapt to the physical demands of mountain environments. This course is designed for: NATO and Partner members, requiring particular knowledge and skills necessary to safely and efficiently operate in the complex terrain and climatic conditions of the mountain environment. On the seminar Exploiting the opportunities arising from all available resources, the recently established NATO Centre of Excellence for Mountain Warfare, located in Poljče, Slovenia (in further text MW COE) among other tasks is focused on pro- viding doctrinal coherence in the field of mountain warfare. According to the general mission of COEs, the NATO MW COE is encouraged to suggest improvements and propose amendments to existing doctrines, procedures and standards as and when appropriate, for subsequent endorsement by the Strategic Commands and/or NATO Head Quarter. In this role, the NATO MW COE serves as a tool which, when appropriate, provides proposals ac- cording to NATO Standardization Process. Based on lessons learned, primarily received from operations and exer- cises, it develops new products, based on expressed needs within the Alliance. NATO member countries are bound to organize occasional topical seminars. This was the opportunity for MW COE to share information

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