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Sport and Physical Activity in the Heat pp 291–310Cite as

Military Settings: Considerations for the Warfighter

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Abstract

Exertional heat illness (EHI) has a significant impact on the medical readiness of the United States military and is a common cause of preventable nontraumatic death. Much of the early wealth of knowledge about EHI has come from the US military experience. The military places a strong focus on heat injury prevention through the publication of policies, regulations, doctrine, and manuals that emphasize command responsibility, risk management, education, risk factor screening, treatment protocols, and regular training. Military protocols focus on the early identification and treatment of suspected exertional heat stroke (EHS). Prior planning ensures that rapid cooling capabilities are available in the field environment. Cold water immersion is the ideal modality, but ice sheets are a field expedient option. Other field expedient options exist for the desert environment. In order to assist military providers in the management of EHI cases, the Army has standardized its medical profiling for EHI by establishing recommendations for follow-up, return-to-duty, and referral indications for medical board evaluation.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. United States Army Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, NC, USA

    Patrick J. Depenbrock MD

  2. Special Warfare Medical Group (Airborne), US Army JFK Special Warfare Center and School, Fort Bragg, NC, USA

    Shawn F. Kane MD, FACSM

  3. Department of Military and Emergency Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA

    Francis G. O’Connor MD, MPH, FACSM (KSI Medical & Science Advisory Board Member)

Authors
  1. Patrick J. Depenbrock MD
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  2. Shawn F. Kane MD, FACSM
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  3. Francis G. O’Connor MD, MPH, FACSM
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Patrick J. Depenbrock MD .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Kinesiology Director, Athletic Training Education Research Associate, Human Performance Laboratory College of Agriculture, Health, and Natural Resources, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, USA

    Douglas J. Casa

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Depenbrock, P.J., Kane, S.F., O’Connor, F.G. (2018). Military Settings: Considerations for the Warfighter. In: Casa, D. (eds) Sport and Physical Activity in the Heat. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70217-9_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70217-9_16

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-70216-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-70217-9

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