snow balls, or by holes dug in the snow. Snow
thrown on the wheels of a parked vehicle helps to disrupt this
tell-tale area.
For vehicles which must operate in areas where snow is a daily
problem, concealment is made much easier if they are painted with
the snow pattern shown on page 41. Many field-expedient
substitutes for paint can be used. Vehicles should be parked close to dark
features of the terrain pattern. Concealment by shadows from buildings,
ground formations, and trees, though effective in summer, loses
much of its usefulness when snow is on the ground, as the white
background lightens the shadows of those objects.
Nets are not recommended for draping in snow. They require
excessive maintenance, cannot carry a heavy snow load, become wet,
bulky, and hard to handle. Garnishing becomes wet, wrinkles, and
loses coverage, increasing texture and darkening tone values. They
must be removed entirely during snow and sleet storms.
Where nets are used for permanent overhead hammocks or to
create permanent parking hides for vehicles, they should be garnished
100 percent. Where the terrain pattern is mottled, as during a thaw
period, the perimeter areas of nets should be white; towards the
center, apply patterns of slate gray, black, and olive drab. Site nets
of this kind near trees, snow drifts, rocks, or other natural forms
which cast shadows. Where nets are anchored directly to the ground,
heap snow on the edges to relieve the irregularity of outline. All
anchor stakes should be of wood. Metal stakes and driftpins conduct
heat from the sun and thaw themselves free.