The 700+ Caribbean islands present a vast area of operations (AO) with challenges providing healthcare to the local population and deployed personnel. Predisaster host nation medical care relied on casevac for basic primary and secondary healthcare, with medivac by air for advanced medical treatment. Disruption to facilities and transport links by Hurricane Irma rendered the native healthcare system on its knees. During Op RUMAN, the Royal Air Force Medical Services (RAFMS) provided expertise in prehospital emergency care and critical care aeromed to enable emergency treatment and access to definitive care for local nationals and our own personnel. The ability to provide independent, safe aeromedical care across a variety of aviation platforms is unique to the RAFMS. The AO did not fit any current doctrine; an adaptable, functional unit concept was adopted to enable care to the walking wounded through to critical care along prolonged timelines.
In September 2017, the British Government called on the military to deliver aid and provide assistance to British Overseas Territories in the Caribbean affected by the devastating category 5 Hurricane, Irma.1 The military and humanitarian operation, named Op RUMAN, saw British military personnel from all services deploy at short notice to assess damage, reinstate vital infrastructure and help islanders get back on their feet as quickly as possible. Members of the Deployed Aeromedical Response Team Squadron (DARTS) were among the first troops deployed to the region. The aim of this paper is to describe the role of DARTS within this Op.
Operation RUMAN was the British government's combined military and humanitarian operations to provide relief to the British Overseas Territories in the Caribbean. This paper provides a short summary of the role played by environmental health during the operation and the importance of environmental health considerations at all stages of disaster management.
The management of focal radiation burns after prolonged exposure to ionising radiation remains a relatively rare but significant therapeutic challenge. This narrative aims to highlight certain aspects of management that can be overlooked and mitigation strategies in the management of these potentially fatal injuries.
Increases in the number of women in critical positions on military missions place new demands for specialised healthcare services to promote performance. The main health problems servicewomen facing are musculoskeletal injuries, reproductive diseases, iron deficiency and mental health problems. Herein, we propose several suggestions based on the rich experiences of our hospital. First is to offer preventive measures for servicewomen health. Second is to equip servicewomen with portable medicine packet to treat common diseases. Third is to provide people-centred integrated care.
Introduction: Intense military operations during deployment or training are associated with elevations in inflammatory cytokine markers. However, the influence of an inflammatory response on military-specific skills is unclear. This study examined the association between brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), glial fibrillar acidic protein, markers of inflammation, marksmanship and cognitive function following a week of intense military field training.
Methods: Twenty male soldiers (20.1±0.6 years; 1.78±0.05m; 74.1±7.9kg) from the same elite combat unit of the Israel Defense Forces volunteered to participate in this study. Soldiers completed a five-day period of intense field training including navigation of 27.8km/day with load carriages of ~50% of their body mass. Soldiers slept approximately fivehours per day and were provided with military field rations. Following the final navigational exercise, soldiers returned to their base and provided a blood sample. In addition, cognitive function assessment and both dynamic and static shooting (15 shots each) were performed following a 200 m gauntlet, in which soldiers had to use hand-to-hand combat skills to reach the shooting range.
Results: Results revealed that tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) concentrations were inversely correlated with dynamic shooting (r=-0.646, p=0.005). In addition, a trend (r=0.415, p=0.098) was noted between TNF-α concentrations and target engagement speed (ie, time to complete the shooting protocol). BDNF concentrations were significantly correlated with the Serial Sevens Test performance (r=0.672, p=0.012).
Conclusion: The results of this investigation indicate that elevated TNF-α concentrations and lower BDNF concentrations in soldiers following intense military training were associated with decreases in marksmanship and cognitive function, respectively.