Strategies to Protect the Health of Deployed U.S. Forces Assessing Health Risks to Deployed U.S. Forces: Workshop Proceedings (2000) / Chapter Skim
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3 Characteristics of the Future Battlefield and Deployment
3 Characteristics of the Future Battlefield and Deployment
Pages 24-34
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Military and industrial intelligence of contested areas, modern equipment and extensive training, pre and post deployment health studies will provide the most successful means offorce protection. INTRODUCTION The purpose of this paper is to briefly discuss the probable characteristics of future battlefields and deployment.
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The air campaign composed of United States and Allied Air and Naval Forces will initiate hostilities with appropriate standoff weaponry such as air and sea launched cruise missiles. If and when air superiority or air supremacy are established, and at the appropriate time in the battle plan, there will be maximum use of stealth and conventional aircraft for precision bombing of specific targets.
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From page 26... ...
A successful air campaign will, by definition, result in the destruction in some or all of the enemy's · command, control, and communications capabilities; · industrial base for the production of weapons, power, fuels, and war-fighting materials; and · infrastructure for the production of power, distribution of water, handling of waste material, and transportation capabilities such as roads, bridges, railheads, and docks. This will not only put the enemy at risk for industrial hazards, but will also put any future occupying force on the ground at that same risk.
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A few of the obstacles, all of which can be experienced in exposures in buildings, streets, and alleyways, include structural damage, falling debris, building fires, the resulting smoke and poor visibility, booby traps, mines, use of nonlethal incapacitants, and civilian refugees. Such conditions will certainly limit the attacking force's progress and might be the cause of considerable injury and stress.
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Forces might be required to face situat~ons ranging from very Jostle and lethal nonuniformed guerrilla forces to exposure to unusual diseases, and often will face massive natural destruction and environmental conditions that will task their ability to perform the mission. Because this type of deployment is "on call" and will most likely be to areas not usually considered likely future deployment areas, there might be little time for commanders to obtain accurate intelligence on disease prevalence and the industrial base or to evaluate the host nation's infrastructure, such as water supplies, sanitation, and insect control.
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This will be particularly true for forces deployed in OOTW and for forces required for operating in the urban environment. Force commanders must have the information necessary to select and destroy targets of military importance without putting their own forces at risk for chemical or industrial contamination and, if the risk is unavoidable, to prospectively protect their forces during and after the attack.
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From page 30... ...
An excellent and extensive report of this experience appears in the Institute of Medicine (IOM 1996) publication on the Health Consequences of Service in the Persian Gulf War.
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The perceived and actual limits of medical support and reliance on one's self and buddy care will tend to increase combat stress. As such, in the immediate future there will be unprecedented psychological and physical stresses on deployed troops, particularly in units deployed in OOTW, that might have significant short- and long-term effects on deployed forces.
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CONCLUSIONS The future battlespace will most likely be characterized by considerable structural and industrial damage, force dispersion, smaller tailored force structures, new personal equipment, data links to the individual soldier, an urban environment, a 360-degree threat, and a nontraditional enemy force structure. Nontraditional weapons, particularly chemical and biological agents, and weapons developed from future technological advances are likely, and the location of the deployment will not have been planned for in any detail.
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From page 33... ...
1997. The risk of birth defects among children of Persian Gulf War veterans.
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From page 34... ...
1998. Health symptoms reported by Persian Gulf War veterans two years after return.
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