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KEY POINTS:

1.   Heat can kill and/or incapacitate.  During the 1967 war with Israel, the
Egyptians suffered 20,000 casualties from heatstroke and dehydration.

2.   Heat injury and illness are preventable under garrison and training scenarios
and their impact during combat can be minimized.  Adequate rest, careful
management of work-rest cycles, and regular water consumption are the major
defenses against heat illness and injury.

3.   Command responsibility and emphasis are key to prevention and minimization
of heat injury. The CO should:

    a)   be responsible for and emphasize adequate, timely and recurrent fluid
and nutrient intake by the soldier;

    b)   adjust the amount of physical activity/work to the prevailing conditions;

    c)   provide a routine of fixed resting periods in accordance with guidelines
and models (Emphasize the importance of adequate rest and cumulative sleep time.
A smart commander will let his troops catnap when possible; using the term "power
nap" may encourage compliance);

    d)   attain peak levels of physical fitness and heat acclimation prior to
deployment and maintain adequate levels of physical fitness after deployment with
maintenance programs tailored to the environment.

4.   The Commander's Guidebook for Water Usage in Desert Operations, FM 10-
52-1, May 1983, contains a wealth of planning information based, in part, on this
Institute's experiences in readiness exercises in the mid-East. Another source of
valuable non-medical information pertinent to current planning needs is the Desert
Operations Handbook of the 197th Infantry Brigade (SEP), 1984.

PHYSIOLOGICAL LAWS:

1.   The amount of heat accumulation in the human body depends upon the
amount of physical activity, the state of personal heat acclimatization, clothing worn,
the load carried, terrain and climatic conditions.

2.   In hot surroundings, sweating is the main mechanism to dissipate body heat.

3.   Following the loss of sweat, fluids must be consumed to replace the body's
loss of water.

4.   If the body fluid lost through sweating is not replaced, dehydration will follow,
which hampers heat dissipation and leads to heat illness.


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