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This base has a refrigerated container where Marines can swap out some of their allocation every day for cool water. But for Marines standing post or stationed at a handful of even more austere outposts arrayed outside Khan Neshin there is only one option: sock water.

WaterSocks for Women

That means we were drinking maybe 2 and a half quarts a day, with is about a sixth of what these guys are drinking. We were in precisely the opposite environment in that it was extremely high humidity, but we were sweating like crazy all the time. Can someone explain how we were able to survive on that amount of water compared to what appears to be required today? Does the hot, dry environment really make that much difference?

It’s hardly a trick unique to the Marines: Local Pashtun and Baluch tribesmen stretch pieces of cloth over large jugs and cool water the same way.

Watersocks vswatershoes

You have got to be kidding me??!! Who cares where the empty bottles go. My son is over there and if he needs to drink that much water then so be it. I’m sure they will figure out how to dispose of the bottles though that is the very least of their concerns believe me!!!!

so how much of the opium market is being already controlled by the western governments and companies, and the oil pipeline, that the army is still there?

Watersocks near me

As the water evaporates and the sock dries, the bottle inside cools by as much as thirty degrees, said Lance Cpl. Cory Bennett, 20, from Baton Rouge, La., who distributes water to the Marines here.

I grew up in India in an Army family, and I can recall the standard way to cool water while soldiers were on maneuvers (and for that matter when our family did any long-distance driving) – hang a canvas bag of water outside the vehicle – the canvas was porous, some of the water came through and the air blowing past the bag while the vehicle drove, did the rest of the cooling-by-evaporation trick.

Some Marines also punch a small hole in the cap of a water bottle, turn it upside down and place it on top of the bottle already in the sock, guaranteeing a steady stream of water so they don’t have to worry about continually wetting the sock.

The Marines here are allotted three cases of water per day – that’s three dozen ½-liter bottles, or more than four gallons. Marines on long patrols often drink more than that, grabbing extras from supplies allocated to men who stay on base.

Hard to think that the poor kids on the field, do not realise that they are being used by top powers to fill their greed and obsession for control. They only obey orders, meanwhile, somebody in a nice office is having a nice cocktail and seeing their bank accounts grow every day.

It’s a simple contraption: A sock is hung on rope or string in the shade. A water bottle is placed inside. The sock is then soaked with water from another bottle.

I have questions. In Vietnam we carried plastic canteens which were contained in ‘insulated’ nylon pouches. I put insulated in quotations because these things were not very thick. We were often in temperatures similar to those listed above. The water was usually warm but was never anywhere near too hot to drink.

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Sock in waterbenefits

WaterSocks for Kids

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“It’s not cold” after getting the sock-water treatment, Lance Corporal Bennett said. “But it’s not so hot that it burns your mouth, either.”

Rich, You were in SE Asian which is humid and so your sweat does not evaporate very quickly. These marines are in an arid or even desert enviornment and so lose water much faster. -Patrick PFC(Ret.)

The temperature differential makes all the difference for water that has been sitting in the blazing sun or stored atop the Marines’ light armored vehicles.

WaterSocks for Men

All of this raises another issue: In a place where afternoon temperatures are typically 120 degrees to 130 degrees – and stocks of water can reach the same temperature – how do you drink that much?

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My son is over there as well. Thanks for putting things into perspective!! The bottles can be burned I am sure. My concern is my son and his buddies. He has been there since June and has seen three buddies die and one seriously injured I don’t think a pile of water bottles should be at the top of the list! It goes to show how spoiled and foolish of a nation we are becoming! If any Marines read this we are so proud of you and the job you are doing! I am praying for your safe return and your victory!!

WaterSocks for swimming

Socks forwatershoes

“There are guys who might think drinking two cases a day is enough, but in 120-degree heat and wearing a flak jacket, that is not enough,” said Navy Lt. Scott Fell, D.O., medical officer for the Marines’ Second Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion. In addition to drinking enough water, he instructs Marines to never skip breakfast. “If your pee is not light yellow or clear, you are not drinking enough.”

Of course all over South Asia (and probably elsewhere) water is cooled in earthenware pots which are somewhat porous and that keeps the water somewhat cooler than the surroundings – poor man’s refrigeration. I drank from them at my grandmothers’ in the 1960s before refrigerators came along. Most people of course still drink out of them.

KHAN NESHIN, Afghanistan– If the amount of water troops consume daily is one good indicator of the rigors of summer combat duty, then this isolated outpost in southern Helmand Province is surely one of the most arduous postings in the entire United States military.

Thank you so much for your intriguing example of a “swamp cooler” which one of my former students sent me. I have added this blog to my on-line thermodynamics text-book – refer: Izzi Urieli

For weight I would gladly trade my gear today for what I was wearing in 1985. For safety today, I will gladly continue to wear my extra 75 pounds of gear before I pick up my ruck sack. And yes, I drink a lot more today than I did doing the same type training/missions as years ago. Our Marines are safer today stepping into bad-man territory than they were years ago thanks to our past and present Commandants that placed a higher priority on getting the right gear for our modern day warfighter.

Rich in Atlanta: I can understand your thoughts on water consumption but know this; todays flack which is just the vest and E-SAPI plate (ballistic ceramic plates, one on each side and front and back) with nothing else on it can weigh as much as 40lbs depending on your size. This is before adding the Camelback (100 oz), six full M16 mags & pouches, 4 9mm mags & pouches Kevlar helmet, the weight of your rifle and pistol (if you have one), first aid kit, knife, lights and anything else required before you even add the weight of their pack or ruck sack. So our Marines today will wear 70-80 lbs of gear/weapon/ammo before you add another 30-70 lbs for what is in their packs.

That may seem extreme, but it is necessary for Marines who carry out foot patrols wearing body armor, a helmet, ammunition clips and carrying a rifle in some of the hottest temperatures on earth. (See Marines Fight Taliban With Little Aid From Afghans.)

Deployed troops do not generally have canteens. They all have CamelBaks, which are great some of the time, and keep the water in them quite cool, but hold nowhere near enough for a day of patrols in the summer heat.

This really works – and is based on the same principle as the desert cooler, a canvas bag filled with water and hung on the grill of your car while crossing the deserts. The key is the low humidity, and this makes the water in the sock evaporate quickly, which follows the physical property of evaporation and cools the water being evaporated and this cooling draws the heat out of the water in the bottle inside the wet sock. This doesn’t work as well in the high humidity of tropical jungles, but be glad for it when you are in a place it is effective.

Another way (other than the sock water) is to put the botels in a jute sack (which is wetted), we do that in India as jute fibres can retain water for longer periods…thus keeping the water bottles in there cooler as well.

Great story about how Marines adapt and overcome. That’s a ton of water to push, but you know their sweating it out just as fast.

Also, we carried 3 days supplies with us on jungle patrol, as that is how often we were supposed to be resupplied. That was about 75 to 80 pounds of equipment altogether and I don’t recall anyone carrying more than 8 quarts of water (a few carried less).