Looking Back on the Last 25 Years of Preparing American Warriors for Battle

Review of USARIEM’s contributions spotlighted in Advances in Physiological Education

Newswise — Bethesda, Md. (Dec. 5, 2011) – Every James Bond movie has a scene in which 007 visits “Q Branch,” the British Secret Service department filled with scientists who produce new products, gadgets and updated materials that maximize the agents’ safety in the field. In reality, a little-known department of the U.S. Army exists, and fulfills a somewhat similar mission. The US Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine (USARIEM) is charged with creating knowledge and material products to sustain and improve American warriors’ health and performance under all conditions including environmental extremes, and chemical/biological threats, a charter it has held for 50 years. A review of its accomplishments over the last quarter century is captured in an article in the December 2011 edition of Advances in Physiological Education, a publication of the American Physiological Society. Entitled, “United States Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine: Warfighter research focusing on the past 25 years,” it is authored by seven current and retired institute members. This article extends a 1986 publication in The Physiologist, which documented the first 25 years of this productive research institute.

Key Divisions

USARIEM is located outside Boston, and is a subordinate laboratory of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Material Command. The organization is composed of four research divisions which collaborate to produce outcomes beneficial to our soldiers’ needs. The Biophysical and Biomedical Modeling Division develops mathematical models and networked physiological sensors to enable those in combat to predict health threats from non-agent chemical exposure, physical exertion and extreme environments; the Military Nutrition Division conducts research on nutritional issues affecting soldier health and fitness, while supporting the Surgeon General’s responsibilities regarding evaluating and developing new rations; research that enhances behavioral, cognitive, physical, and psychomotor performance to complete military tasks and prevents musculo-skeletal injury is the charge of the Military Performance Division; and minimizing medical problems and sustaining performance during exposure to heat, cold and high-altitude environments is achieved through research sponsored by the Thermal and Mountain Medicine Division.

Accomplishments: 1986-2011

In a decade-by-decade summary of the divisional research initiatives, the authors describe many of the journeys that research has taken to move ideas from the lab to military training and to the battlefield. For example, in the 1980s, USARIEM research revealed that insufficient energy and weight loss were the result of extended consumption of MREs (Meals Ready to Eat). Consequently, the Army Surgeon General established policy limiting the number of days MRE subsistence should be used for soldiers.

More recently, USARIEM research searched for and found solutions that would allow U.S. soldiers to perform successfully in the 120°F temperatures in Iraq and the mountainous and cold weather environments of Afghanistan. Besides determining acclimatization/training strategies, work capabilities, water / nutrient needs, they adapt material solutions to address weather changes, USARIEM personnel were also tasked with figuring out how to modify protective clothing and body armor to manage stress caused by extended foot patrols, and how to deal with the problems of skeletal muscle injury and physical /mental fatigue. It is therefore not surprising that USARIEM was granted nine patents between 2000-2010 for products ranging from “Methods to Protect Skeletal Muscle Against Injury,” “Gear Type Drink-O-Meter to Measure Fluid Consumption,” to “Body Thermoregulation Using Skin Temperature Feedback.”

Scientific Findings Published in APS, ACSM Journals

The article also offers some unexpected information. Some 2,200 scientific papers have been published by USARIEM scientists during the last quarter century. During USARIEM’s 50 year history, “More than 350 manuscripts have been published in the journals and books of the American Physiological Society and over 100 manuscripts have been published in journals and books of the American College of Sports Medicine,” according to Dr. Michael N. Sawka, Chief, Thermal and Mountain Medicine Division at USARIEM, and one of the authors. In addition, USARIEM scientists are active on many editorial boards and committees within those two professional organizations and others.

Outlook for the Future

The organization has built a successful track record producing research programs, information and material products that have enhanced, protected and sustained our country’s Warfighters for a half-century. They are well poised to continue this critical work in the years ahead.

The Authors

In addition to Michael Sawka, the authors of the article are Kent B. Pandolf, Ralph Francesconi, Allen Cymerman, Reed W. Hoyt, Andrew J. Young and Edward J. Zambraski, all of USARIEM.

###

NOTE TO EDITORS: For further information, or to receive a copy of the article, please contact Donna Krupa at [email protected], @Phyziochick, or 301.634.7209.

***

Physiology is the study of how molecules, cells, tissues and organs function to create health or disease. The American Physiological Society (APS; www.the-APS.org/press) has been an integral part of the discovery process since it was established in 1887. To keep up with the science, follow @Phyziochick on Twitter.