Six soldiers can easily erect this shelter. One technique is to designate a soldier to
manage the contents of the ahkio while the other soldiers set up the tent and stove.
This man readies items for use and prevents items from being lost in the snow. Another man sets up the stove while the tent is erected.
Use the following procedures to set-up the tent:
Step 1
Dig the snow to ground level or pack the snow down firmly, in the area to be occupied by the tent.
Step 2
Extend the tent out:
- Unfold the tent and position it on the cleared site.
- Remove the daisy chain from the corner eave lines.
- One soldier grabs the apex of the tent. Three Soldiers each grab two corners.
- If more Soldiers are available each Soldier can grab a corner.
- The Soldier at the apex throws the apex straight up while the other three Soldiers move out and away.
- Rotate the tent so that the main door is positioned at an angle of 45° away from downwind.
Step 3
The main entrance is the tent door located closest to the stove pipe opening in the roof of the tent.
Prevailing wind directions may be determined by examining the drift patterns of snow in the immediate area.
In areas having variable winds, a windbreak may be constructed to shelter the main entrance.
Step 4
Zip both door entrances (to include liner) shut. If the tent zipper is unserviceable,
use the metal clip and D-ring, located at the bottom edge of the door to hold the door shut while the tent is erected.
If you erect the tent while the doors are open, you may not be able to zip the doors shut once all the tent lines are tightened.
Step 5
Fully extend all corner eave lines. The corner eave lines are located on opposite sides of the tent,
where the roof meets the walls and the walls form corners. Altogether there are six corner eave lines.
Corner eave lines must be inline with the corresponding seams of the tent.
Step 6
Mark spots on the ground approximately six feet, (two steps), from each corner of the tent. This is where you will anchor the corner eave lines.
Step 7
Place tent pins on the marks. Angle the tent pins slightly away from the tent; this will prevent the
lines from slipping off the pins and/or pulling the pin out of the ground.
Attach the corner eave lines to the pins but leave them slack for now.
Step 8
Extend the center pole to a length between 6 and 8 feet and lock it in this position. One soldier, “pole man”,
crawls under the tent with the center pole and pole board. Place the stud at the top of the center pole through
the hole in the perforated metal plate at the roof apex. Hold the pole vertically and place the pole board underneath the base of the pole.
Note: Although the ground under the tent may be frozen upon tent assembly, after a period of time with the heater fired,
the surface will thaw and the pole may sink without the baseplate.
Step 9
A dead man anchor is simply any object with a large surface area which can be dug into
the ground or snow with the long axis of the object perpendicular to the end of the tent line.
You then attach the tent line to the center of the object, and fill the hole with the removed dirt or snow.
The looser the material from the hole, the more surface area the object will require to be an effective anchor.
Step 10
On rocky ground, tent lines may be tied off to large rocks, or weighted down with piles of stones.
Occasionally, tents may be pitched on ice. Ice pitons or screws may be used in place of tent pins.
If ice pitons or screws are unavailable, an anchor may be established by chopping a small hole into
or through the ice, and placing a stick or pole into the hole.
Step 11
The object placed in the hole may freeze in place permanently. To prevent damage to the tent lines, attach a separate rope or wire to the
object in the ice hole and secure the tent line to this material. If you are unable to chop completely through the ice, you may pour water
into the hole after you place the stick into it, causing the object to freeze in position, creating a much more secure anchor.