Your loadout in the winter is very important because it can affect your performance, depending on the mission. The environment has its own set of challenges that can hurt your ability to maneuver and stay out for long term durations. In this article, we will weight the issues of the environment and the specifics of the mission in order to explore what loadout fits for that combination.
RECONNAISSANCE MISSIONS
In the winter time, I feel that it is very important to be strategic and conservative with offensive operations. This requires a lot of reconnaissance in order to spot enemy weaknesses and the extent of the effect an offensive operation can be exploited. In guerilla warfare, this is vital due to smaller elements usually being responsible for these offensive actions such as Raids. Several precisely targeted Raids can have a greater effect on the enemy initiative than one big one. The more Raids, the more reconnaissance that needs to happen. You cannot reasonably hope that a recon team, whose mission is to avoid contact, will NEED body armor. If they make contact, the goal is to break contact and get out of dodge quickly. If you weigh yourself down with body armor, you will be more of a bullet magnet due to an inability to move quickly. 15 to 20 pounds of extra crap will obviously affect your endurance and ability to move. For this reason, a minimalized loadout that is more geared towards sustainment and defense is rational. Gear up for the mission but be ready to lay hate if things go sour.
CONTACT PATROLS
When your primary mission is to seek out contact with the enemy, either physical or visual, it is expected that there will be a need for protection. This means that speed will be relative and the time spent moving will be relatively short and direct. There may be pursuit involved, but the mission of a designated contact patrol is usually sustained contact, which would also entail bringing enough ammo for a fight, but without the need for things like extra food. Perhaps extra water would be useful though since winter time drains your water much quicker. However, depending on the projected mission time, you may want to limit water and supplement with more ammunition.
SECURITY PATROLS
This is an iffy one, because I think it may very well come down to where the patrols are doing, whether it is to mingle with locals, or hunting for infiltrators. With the former, I could see little reason to gear up with armor, but it should not be discouraged. On the latter, it should be absolutely required since your security is anticipating the possibility of contact. That is an easy loadout. Lots of ammo, and enough rations and water to last the time on patrol.
RAID PATROLS
Raids by their very nature imply short duration attacks. This completely points out the need for protection in some units, and less protection needed for others. The units closest to the enemy will be advancing under the cover of a base of fire unit, enabling them to move slower and with more care. This makes the assault element a good candidate for armor. The supporting elements may need to displace or shift positions to continue a base of fire or provide cover as the assault element navigates the objective. Here speed will be the law, and their fire superiority should trump the need for armor, or at least as much if protected by sufficient physical cover.
SUMMARY CONCLUSION
Much of what you carry needs to be based on the mission. Overburdening yourself unnecessarily is not good for the mission or your ultimate safety. Plan your mission and choose your loadout carefully. The goal is to be effective in a fight, not just follow some dogma that you have to be like the military and where PPE 24/7.
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