FORT DETRICK, Md. — As geopolitical competition in the Arctic region continues to accelerate, senior leaders need to be confident that the Warfighters under their command will be able to operate at peak effectiveness for long periods in extreme cold. That’s why experts in nutrition, physical performance, and extreme environments from the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine (USARIEM) are teaming up to revise the Army’s guidance on protecting the physical and psychological health of military personnel operating in below-zero environments.
In the nearly 20 years since the last edition of the Army’s technical bulletin on the prevention and management of cold-weather injuries, called TB MED 508, research conducted at USARIEM has significantly improved our understanding of how humans respond and adapt to cold, how to effectively prevent and treat cold injuries, and how to inhibit performance degradation. That knowledge will be reflected in the new edition of TB MED 508.