Heat acclimatisation on UK exercise SAIF SAREEA 3.

Area of Science:

• Military Medicine
• Environmental Physiology
• Exercise Science

Background:

• Large-scale military exercises in extreme heat pose significant risks of heat illness.
• Previous exercises indicated a need for optimized heat management strategies.
• Exercise SAIF SAREEA 3 involved armoured infantry manoeuvres in temperatures exceeding 50°C in Oman.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present methods for heat acclimatisation, recreational physical training, and reacclimatisation during Exercise SAIF SAREEA 3.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of implemented heat illness prevention strategies.
• To compare heat illness rates with previous exercises and medical estimates.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of validated heat acclimatisation training and adapted training based on individual needs.
• Issuance of specific guidelines for recreational physical training in the heat.
• Establishment of a theatre medical consensus for soldier management post-heat illness admission, including return to exercise protocols.
• Systematic collation of data on acclimatisation and heat illness presentations among deployed Army (LAND) forces.

Main Results:

• Significantly lower rates of climatic effects were observed compared to medical estimates from SAIF SAREEA 2.
• Only five LAND patients met the in-theatre case definition for exertional heat illness out of a population at risk of 2550.
• No patients readmitted after initial heat illness symptoms experienced subsequent heat illness upon returning to the exercise.

Conclusions:

• The implemented heat acclimatisation and adapted training protocols were effective in reducing heat illness incidence.
• The findings suggest that current heat management policies and adapted training strategies are successful in extreme heat environments.
• The study supports the practice of carefully managed return to exercise after heat-related admissions.