The Best TTP I Learned from the Royal Marines: The Wet Dry Drill

by Captain Rahul Singh

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Most Marines are intimately familiar with the stifling heat of a summer in Twentynine Palms, the bitter cold of Virginia in winter, and the oppressive humidity of the swamps in North Carolina. Each environment requires Marines to properly sustain themselves and mitigate the atmospheric effects to stay alert and in the fight for long periods of time. Over the years, the Marine Corps’ inherent knowledge of how to train and execute missions in every clime and place has waxed and waned. Today, the USMC is investing heavily in kit and equipment designed to project power at long ranges from austere environments, all while prioritizing distributed forces and stretching our lines of communication. Have we stopped to consider if our Marines’ training is actually capable of allowing them to operate from such remote and unforgiving locations?

Some may already be familiar with the Royal Marines “yomp” across East Falkland Island during their war with Argentina. But readers might not be aware that nearly all Commandos suffered a form of non-freezing cold injury or immersion foot as they crossed an endless bog under adverse weather conditions. Some estimates suggest that 13% of those medically evacuated were due to this form of injury. These MEDEVACs were complicated due to contested airspace and the anti-ship missile threat. Today, in Ukraine, wounded soldiers can wait several days, if not a week, to be evacuated from the FLOT due to enemy ISR and FPV strike capabilities. Looking at the future operating environment, we should have a healthy appreciation for the tyranny of distance in the Pacific and we should all recognize the importance of not only improving our common medical skills, but also the need for injury and illness prevention.

This article is not going to address the intractable problem of intra-theater lift or MEDEVAC in the Western Pacific, but it will recognize that forward deployed units will need to be less reliant on constant resupply or rotation off the FLOT. In light of these environmental and operational considerations, it is more important than ever to identify methods for extending the performance of far-flung and potentially isolated units.. As our Corps is asking more of the individual Marine, it is essential that we evaluate and improve our sustainability skills. Therefore, this article will share one modest solution, a simple procedure that is considered a basic and common skill to our sister service, the UK Royal Marines: The Wet Dry drill.

Background and Context

Throughout my training and time in the USMC, I always felt the solution to difficult weather conditions was primarily mental toughness, with a degree of appropriate equipment and clothing sprinkled in. This is a common USMC belief and though it imbues us with the determination to face difficult conditions, I believe this mentality has become counterproductive for our organization as we no longer have the skills and equipment to sustain ourselves for more than a few days in harsh environments.

The British Army and Royal Marines however, live, breathe, and thrive in a difficult environment. The persistently wet, and just-above-freezing temperatures of the UK have created a mentality and skillset in UK Soldiers that places heavy emphasis on individuals using the correct drills to sustain themselves and excel in the field. The drills that the Royal Marines and British Army have developed in their difficult home environment, and in their superb Jungle Warfare Division in Brunei, have solutions to many of the sustainability issues we see in our formations today.

During my three years on exchange with the Royal Marines and four winter months on the All Arms Commando Course (AACC), I learned to appreciate the Royal Marine axiom: 'Any fool can be wet and cold.' One of the most valuable sustainability skills I acquired in the UK is the 'Wet Dry Dill.' Although this drill is taught at a few USMC schoolhouses, it is not widely known among infantry Marines. At schoolhouses in the USMC where the Wet Dry Dill is taught, it has largely been brought to the USMC from All Arms Commando Course graduates and Royal Marines Exchange personnel.

The Drill

The steps from going wet to dry, and back to wet, are as follows:

1. A soldier arrives at his Patrol Base or other location of rest. They then erect a quick shelter where they plan to change, cook, clean their weapons, and sleep.

2. The soldier then works from top to bottom swapping out wet pieces of clothing with dry pieces of clothing.

3. The soldier pulls out a pair of “bug-out” shoes and dons them. These are critical to allowing a soldier to react if their unit takes fire while they are in their shelter.

4. The soldier then pulls out their bivy and sleeping bag and gets inside.

The soldier then cooks food, cleans their weapons, changes batteries, and conducts all admin while in their sleeping bag.

When the soldier is preparing to step out on operations or to go on sentry, the following steps are taken:

5. The soldier packs away his sleeping bag.

6. Working from the bottom up, dry clothing is taken off and wet clothing put back on.

7. Bug-out shoes are taken off and placed in a waterproof bag, wet boots are worn.

8. All equipment is put away.

Watch the following video for a demonstration of each step.

The Why

During Royal Marines (RM) Officer Training exercises, RM Recruit Training, and the All Arms Commando Course (AACC), not conducting the wet dry drill before getting into your sleeping bag is a cardinal sin, and for good reason. There are three primary benefits that students would lose out on:

1. Prevention of hypothermia

2. Allowing for quality sleep

3. Allowing skin to heal.

Hypothermia

A wet bag is a terrible insulator; every soldier knows this instinctively. Keeping your sleeping bag dry is imperative. If the weather turns extremely foul and a soldier approaches the point of hypothermia they must be able to return to a safe place and know that their sleeping bag is warm and dry. If he’s poorly disciplined and has a wet bag, he may become hypothermic in his sleep and thus require CASEVAC or even worse, die. For that reason, the Wet Dry Drill is used to preserve the effectiveness of one’s sleeping bag.

Quality of Sleep

Sleep is vital to any soldier conducting operations for multiple days. The effectiveness of this sleep depends significantly on its quality. Going to sleep while wearing wet clothing is cold and uncomfortable. There is a massive difference in fatigue and ability to operate in the field after using the Wet Dry Dill rigidly, versus the haphazard drills I learned in USMC training. One hour of restful sleep in dry clothing and a warm, dry sleeping bag is more refreshing than three hours of fitful, cold, and restless sleep in damp clothing and a wet sleeping bag.

Allowing Skin to Heal

After a mere two days in a damp environment, doing hard soldering leads to painful hands and feet. After every field op I went on during the AACC, my hands were ripped up and painful from being wet, and constantly touching abrasive fabric and weapons. Almost every US Marine has experienced Immersion Foot. Operating in wet socks for 12-18 hours leads to painful feet that only improve when allowed to dry for many hours. The Wet Dry Dill allows skin to be completely dry. This prevents immersion foot, allows hands to heal, and prevents infection in chafed and cut areas. Soldiers may then operate indefinitely without needing medical attention for seriously damaged feet, hands, and shoulders.

Immersion foot sets on quickly, in as little as 10 hours in wet conditions. It’s painful symptoms can cause a Marine to require MEDEVAC.

FAQs

Is the extra weight worth carrying?

The Wet Dry Dill requires you to carry an extra blouse, trouser, socks, and underwear. However, because you keep one set of garments clean and dry, it also means you don’t have to carry any additional socks or underwear. This means an increase of one pound in a Marine’s load when offset by not having to pack three or more additional pairs of socks and underwear. I would additionally argue that the mental and physical recovery afforded by quality sleep and healing skin offsets the weight of an additional pound to Marines’ kits.

Isn’t this drill only for cold wet environments?

The Wet Dry Dill is best suited for two different climates, wet and cold, and hot and humid. It allows soldiers to rewarm in cold climates where staying warm is the biggest challenge, and allows skin to heal in jungle environments where skin degradation and infection is a concern.

Does this mean I shouldn’t try to dry my “wet clothing”?

The wet dry drill, in its simplest form, keeps one set of clothing dirty and wet for operating, and one set dry and warm for resting. However, there are numerous techniques that can be used for drying “wet kit". These include wearing Gore-Tex socks while in a patrol base or on sentry to dry one’s boots, storing wet socks on the body while sleeping, wearing Gore-Tex underneath wet clothes while on sentry, and numerous other strategies. However, all of these tricks must be tactically sound. Marines don’t sacrifice security of the patrol base, or their ability to react to contact in order to dry clothing. This means no hanging up of wet socks or clothing on trees while sleeping. All wet clothing should be packed away in a separate waterproof bag when wearing dry kit.

If I have a short time to rest, is it really worth conducting the wet dry drill?

It depends. If you are completely dry, and your clothing isn’t muddy then probably not. However no matter the environment a Marine should change his socks and put on clean dry socks to allow feet to recover. I’ve felt the effects of long hours on my feet in both the wet UK winter and summer time in Saudi Arabia. At a minimum, a Marine should take off his boots and put on clean dry socks and bug out shoes when resting.

If you are in any wet climate this drill is worth it. At its fastest, getting from wet to dry takes 10 minutes, thus 20 cumulative minutes during a rest period. Even in an hour's rest, I’d argue this is absolutely worth conducting to give your feet and skin time to recover before operating again.

A Sustainability Mindset

Royal Marines are often taught to “get in your sleeping bag as soon as you can”. This mindset places heavy emphasis on conducting any actions required in the patrol base as quickly as possible, then getting into the sleeping bag to conduct all remaining admin. This includes weapons cleaning, eating, and writing orders while rewarming and healing. This means that when a Royal Marine platoon occupies a patrol base or comes back from a patrol, all soldiers move as quickly as possible to set up communications equipment, make terrain models, and complete collective tasks before conducting the Wet Dry Dill and doing the rest of their admin while rewarming in a sleeping bag. US Marines often forgo the comforts of a sleeping bag to complete our priorities of work under the axiom of “weapon, gear, body”. Weapons cleaning, cooking, eating, and kit maintenance can all be done from inside the sleeping bag while skin heals and the body rewarms. This consideration for your body in Royal Marines training is seen as good discipline as it allows soldiers to sustain themselves for long periods of time.

Royal Marines don’t view sustainability as mental weakness, in fact it’s highly encouraged. Often, instructors will arrive at a set of platoon orders and criticize anyone who hasn’t arrived at the order with a warm hat, jacket, and or drink to keep themselves alert and prevent unnecessary energy consumption through shivering. This, of course, is equally balanced after orders when you are expected to rapidly remove insulation to avoid overheating when operating. Marines who don’t properly sustain themselves are considered potential liabilities. A platoon commander who stands in front of his platoon in icy cold with minimal warm clothing isn’t considered strong but instead raises concerns about his judgment and ability to sustain himself for the duration of the operation. This applies equally to young Marines. There is a significant recognition of the limits of one’s ability to withstand unmitigated exposure to the elements and a healthy appreciation for human factors - topics US Marines at times only pay lip service towards. Overall, this is a question of discipline, and discipline requires engaged small unit leadership dedicated to meeting standards.

In Closing

Overall, the Wet Dry Drill fits neatly into the Royal Marines’ sustainability mindset. This mindset states that soldiers must work hard when they are operating, but that this soldiering will inevitably degrade their minds, body, and morale. Once they are at a safe location soldiers must then work diligently to recover. This means recovering their bodies by getting dry, their minds by getting quality sleep, and their morale through hot food, hot drinks, and thorough hygiene. This “work hard”, “recover hard” mentality is what allows Royal Marines to be world class light infantrymen, and operate in the harshest of climates.

Whether you are in the FMF or at the schoolhouse, it is time to reevaluate fieldcraft standards and integrate TTPs such as the Wet-Dry Drill, even if they are considered unconventional. This article highlights just one method for extending an individual Marine’s or a unit’s tactical endurance. Adopting a culture and mindset that support our expeditionary requirements in future conflicts will take more than just a dry sleeping bag. That culture begins with how we think, prepare, and operate in any environment.

If you wish to learn more about Commando Training, please reach out with any questions you might have.

Capt Rahul Singh is a USMC Exchange Instructor with the Royal Marines’ Initial Officer Training at their Commando Training Centre. He can be reached at rahul.singh1@usmc.mil.

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The opinions expressed above are those of the author and The Connecting File. They do not reflect the views of the Department of Defense, the United States Marine Corps, or any other government entity.