5 July 2024
With Army’s future focused on the north, a new policy to keep soldiers cool in the heat of battle is being trialled by 1 Brigade to reduce Army’s heat injury and illness.
A heat casualty in 2021 led Army to review its heat management policy, how it was applied and whether it was fit for purpose, according to Work Health and Safety – Army Director Colonel Brendan Robinson.
“Army’s heat policy has been in place since the early 2000s. In that time we’ve changed how we operate, what equipment we use and what we wear,” Colonel Robinson said.
“We needed to update our heat policy and tools, to make sure that we minimise the risk of heat casualties occurring in our people.”
Army Work Health and Safety, with the Directorate of Army Health, Genesys Business Unit and Defence Science and Technology Group, revised the heat policy and developed a new heat-risk assessment tool.
Drawing on research from the US and UK, work-rest and recovery tables were updated to reflect best practice and to capture a greater variety of work and intensity levels for commanders to plan accordingly.
The revision also includes simplified hydration and acclimatisation guidance and updates the work-rest tables to reflect current uniforms.
The Genesys Heat Risk Assessment Tool includes a smart spreadsheet with weather details for 100 Defence sites, which transforms weather, activity and intensity data into information for activity planners.
1 Brigade planners are already seeing the benefits of this tool as it better informs times to conduct activities to reduce heat risk.
The policy reform also emphasises rapid-active cooling like air-conditioning in vehicles or cold-water immersion as a more effective means to lower core body temperature – a key driver of heat injury or illness.
Trialling began earlier this year at 1 Brigade. It was also used during the first combined Special Forces Selection Course in Western Australia.
Changes are being field-tested during Exercise Predator's Run to validate the policy before planned release at the end of October.
“We’re doing this work now because when the high-risk weather season ramps up and it becomes hot in the Top End, we want to have a policy that’s ready to go,” Colonel Robinson said.
