Publications

NATO ground forces have operated in the extreme heat of Iraq, Afghanistan, Africa and Lebanon, and the numbing cold of Bosnia and Afghanistan. NATO forces often lack adequate doctrine, training and/ equipment to avoid thermal illness and injury, and to minimize debilitating effects on fighting capabilities. Thermal (heat and cold) illness and injuries are an important cause of non-battle-related illness and injury in deployed troops, which can consume forward medical resources and gravely degrade operational effectiveness. The August 2004 battle of Najaf, Iraq, resulted in 10 percent of engaged forces being incapacitated from heat stress and evacuated. NATO forces report heat illnesses often deplete forward medical support. The U.S. Army has had an ~8-fold increase in heat stroke hospitalizations during the past 22 years. British military forces have suffered a high incidence of non-freezing cold injuries (hands and feet) in training and operations; while U.S. Special Forces are believed to suffer many unreported non-freezing cold injuries to hands. In addition, global warming has melted polar ice, resulting in increased energy exploration and trade routes through these extreme cold areas, which have had associated security concerns. NATO RTO RTG HFM-187 determined that: a) current thermal management capabilities are not fully utilized by NATO forces to educate military leaders on optimizing troop health and performance sustainment; b) significant scientific and capability gaps exist regarding thermal illness and injury susceptibility, early diagnosis and treatment; c) significant scientific and capability gaps exist regarding thermal management for operational effectiveness. NATO RTO RTG HFM-187 reviewed thermal management policies for NATO nations and produced both a technical report on thermal management for leaders and medical personnel, and low-tech information brochures on thermal (heat and cold) management. These products represent ‘best practices’ and can be translated into the languages of NATO Nations and allied forces.