Slight tangent but interesting nonetheless.
We wore leather ski march boots all the time in arctic Norway. Not the best kit, but we made it work. Temps rarely got below minus 40 though, and we were always skiing - being ski troops. When it got really cold, we tended to go into defensive positions in tents to warm up. I'm thinking that these US Marines wore boots similar to ours for this study because I remember the USMC copying our M&AW equipment (the fools) down to the sock, boot and tent sheet, despite our advice. I don't ever remember our casualty rates being that high though (12.7%), as we did constant foot inspections and tracked all that stuff pretty closely.
Injuries and risk factors in an 18-day Marine winter mountain training exercise
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3912/is_200012/ai_n8905089/pg_1
Injuries and risk factors in an 18-day Marine winter mountain training exercise
Military Medicine, Dec 2000 by Reynolds, Katy
Objectives: This study determined the incidence of and risk factors for injuries among 356 Marines during a winter mountain training exercise. Methods: Marines received a podiatry screening and completed a questionnaire on race, education, tobacco use, height, weight, and fitness (4.8-km run, sit-ups, pull-ups). Results: Forty-five Marines (12.696%) reported at least one injury each, 68.996 of which were traumatic injuries. Total injuries resulted in 114 days of limited duty time. A final foot examination (N = 141) revealed 118 injuries (82.2% blisters and abrasions, 11.996 frostnip). White ethnicity was a risk factor for overall injuries, and forefoot varus alignment was a risk factor for traumatic injuries. Lower education and rank and smokeless tobacco use were associated with foot injuries. The Marine ski-march leather boot and smoking were related to foot cold injuries. Conclusions: Military winter training is associated with injuries and lost training time. Risk factors were identified, suggesting that these injuries may be preventable.