What I am seeing here is like taking a vehicle from Texas and trying to drive it in North Dakota in the winter.
(Iraq to Alaska)
There are winterization steps that can be taken to make that vehicle cold capable, even if tinhorns will learn the hard way.
For gas vehicles, purge the system of water (yes, it's in there) with HEET, preferably while it is warm, and use as little ethanol in the fuel system as possible afterwards. Change fuel filters.
Make sure engine oil is synthetic, not mineral oil. Use the correct grade.
Make sure all transmission, gearbox, and differential lubricants are arctic rated.
Windshield washer fluid should be rated for 30 BELOW zero. Anything rated for above zero will likely freeze and may damage the pump.
Engine coolant should be the best mix you can get (70/30) for the coldest rating (this also protects best against overheating/boilover).
Finally, install or have installed a frost plug or lower radiator hose heater so the engine can be kept warm enough to start.
Batteries: All connections clean and secure, with the highest cold cranking amp rated battery available for the vehicle.
These should be kept at a full charge state to prevent freezing.
DIesel: Number 1 only should be used from September through May. If there is Number 2 or a blend in the tanks when you last fill up, by the time the real cold sets in, you will have flushed it from the system.
I can't count on all my appendages (including hair) the number of times a trucker has left somewhere down south to have his fuel system gel up while driving here.
Yes, number 1 diesel is more expensive. It's still cheaper than a tow, or freezing on the side of the road (not counting the lost loads while the truck is thawing).
But Alaska has had Army maneuvers before, as a fellow grad student related to me in the '70s.
Maybe someone ought to dig out the vehicle maintenance records from that era and apply the lessons to be learned to today's equipment.
