Technical Manual TM 4-33.31 (TM 4-33.31 ) Cold Weather Maintenance Operations February 2017 This technical manual (TM) provides general principles and technical guidance for field maintenance, for the operation and repair of equipment under cold weather conditions from freezing down to temperatures below -65 degrees Fahrenheit (°F) -54 degrees Celsius (°C). This manual assists unit commanders, supervisors (maintenance officers, motor sergeants, and section leaders), and maintenance personnel in anticipating and planning for the onset of cold weather or an arctic deployment. Operations in cold environments occurs at the limit of what is safe and what is dangerous. Maintainers and operators should refer to the item specific technical manual (TM) or lubrication order (LO) as the primary source of information and guidance for maintenance procedures. Failure to follow this guidance and item specific TMs can result in injury to personnel and damage to equipment, impairing or preventing mission accomplishment. In a field environment, operators must make every reasonable effort to follow TM procedures. This manual is intended to familiarize equipment operators and item maintainers with information on the unique difficulties that equipment operators and maintainers can expect to encounter in cold weather operations. It shows ways to adjust maintenance operations in cold weather, and the properties of materials they can expect in below freezing temperatures. It provides a consolidated overview of the special and unique difficulties that equipment operators and maintainers can expect to encounter in cold weather operations. Although much of the information in this TM is available in other doctrinal and technical publications, this TM provides a general summary of cold weather operations that ties together and prioritizes ADRP 4-0, Sustainment, ATP 4-33, Maintenance Operations, FM 4-30, Ordnance Operations, and ATP 3-90.97, Mountain Warfare and Cold Weather Operations, along with related technical publications into a broad spectrum of best practices for maintainers and equipment operators. This TM is focused on a combat environment where Soldiers cannot always count on the resources that sustained them in garrison to always be available. In a crises, Soldiers in combat do field expedient things to survive, even if it means destroying equipment to complete a mission and avoid losing their lives. Though such expedient repairs are temporary in nature until more reliable repairs can be performed. Principles in this manual are based on ATP 4-31, Recovery and Battle Damage Assessment and Repair (BDAR). The intent is to stimulate critical thinking that is unit specific, to support development of mission focused standard operating procedures. This manual is for commanders who are preparing their troops for the fight; and for the troops working hard to stay in the fight. If the combat situation forces them to resort to a field expedient solution, this manual is intended to help Soldiers make the right decision with the right information. Commanders and leaders must weigh the information in this manual to determine what is relevant to the mission and situation they are confronting. Dealing with cold is not an issue that can be well defined with black and white limits. For some equipment and products, the adverse effects of cold can occur even at temperatures above the freezing point of water. Although this manual deals with temperatures under 40 °F (4 °C), it is slanted toward the severe cold temperatures at about +19°F (-20°C) to -50°F (-45°C). The focus of this TM is planning and execution of maintenance operations in severe cold environments. The tactical combat employment of weapons and equipment is beyond the scope of this publication. Likewise, this manual addresses human factor concerns in a general context, but the primary medical guidance source is the U.S. Army Medical Department Center and School (AMEDDC&S).