Protecting THOSE WHO SERVE: Strategies to Protect the Health of Deployed U.S. Forces by Institute of Medicien

Author:Institute of Medicien
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Health and Medicine: Military and Veterans
Publisher: NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
Published: 2000-10-03T16:00:00+00:00

During Deployment

The second major phase of the framework addresses risk-assessment activities associated with actual specific deployments, either as case-specific pre-deployment planning preparation or as activities conducted during the course of deployment. The key activities associated with this phase are implementing plans made in anticipation of deployment (ongoing strategic baseline preparation and planning), refining them with information peculiar to the specific deployment, noting the advent of threatening exposures, and activating the appropriate parts of the response plans accordingly. This phase must also include vigilance for exposures that, despite all the planning, were unanticipated. DoD should examine the effectiveness of collecting and archiving biological samples, in addition to sera, from troops and environmental samples for future analysis. Such information could provide rapid results during deployment so that risk management can be continually refined. This information could also validate and refine baseline strategies.

When a specific deployment is expected, information on its location, mission, and current conditions should be incorporated into predesigned generalized contingency plans. This includes information on meteorological conditions and forecasts, updates on the locations of hazardous materials, and current assessments of capabilities and inclinations of adversaries. A plan to obtain information on potential exposures during the course of deployment should be specified; its extent will depend on the nature, magnitude, and anticipated duration of the specific deployment. On arrival at a deployment destination, samples of soil, air, and water should be obtained and tested for local pollutants, and some samples should be archived for future reference. In addition, detection devices for the most likely threats and meteorological instruments should be set up to obtain information for use in exposure models.

Over the course of the deployment, various kinds of information should be collected periodically (with the extent of the activity depending on the deployment specifics): environmental samples to document changes in environmental concentrations, information on unit activities and positions, and information collected by monitors and detectors. DoD should examine the effectiveness and feasibility of collecting biological samples during deployment. It is also important during the course of deployment to be vigilant for novel and unanticipated threats.

The information collected during deployment is valuable for retrospective analyses, such as reconstruction of exposure scenarios, comparisons with pre-deployment health surveys and samples, and improvement in contingency plans. These data constitute an important source of information for investigating health issues that might arise among deployment veterans.

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