U.S. Army FM 4-02.17 Preventive Medicine Services.pdf

U.S. Army Field Manuals covering such topics as combat, arms, operations, training, support, and dozens of special topics! The term medical threat is defined as a collective term used to designate all potential or continuing enemy actions and environmental situations that could adversely affect the combat effectiveness of friendly forces, to include wounds, injuries, or sickness incurred while engaged in a joint operation. In Army and multiservice publications, the term is defined as a composite of all ongoing potential enemy actions and environmental conditions (disease and nonbattle injuries [DNBIs]) that may render a soldier combat ineffective. Commanders and unit leaders are responsible for protecting and preserving Army personnel and equipment against injury, damage, or loss that may result from food-, water-, and arthropod borne diseases, as well as environmental injuries (for example, heat and cold injuries) and occupational hazards. The term health threat refers to an individual soldiers health. The term can include hereditary conditions which manifest themselves in adulthood, individual exposure to an industrial chemical or toxin where others are not exposed, or other injuries and traumas which affect an individuals health rather than the health of the unit. For example, an individual who has a food allergy inadvertently eats the offending food; he may become incapacitated with diarrhea but the remainder of the unit is not affected by this condition. On the other hand, in a unit where 40 to 50 percent of its personnel contract Salmonella (an infectious disease), the unit can no longer complete its mission. A health threat may be more individualized in nature and may not be of any military significance. The significant difference in these terms lies with the effects on the ability of a military unit to successfully execute its mission. The elements of the medical threat include infectious diseases that occur naturally, but are not limited to: Diseases endemic to the AO. Environmental factors (heat, cold, humidity, and significant elevations above sea level). Diseases caused by zoonotic/animal bites. The presence of poisonous animals, plants, and insects. (These are important considerations as causative agents of DNBI casualties.) Diseases stemming from weapons of mass destruction (WMD) (such as nuclear, biological, and chemical [NBC], and directed-energy [DE] weapons/devices such as radiation composed of three types (radio frequency, laser, and charged particle beam). Blast effect weapons, such as fuel and air explosives, represent an emerging medical threat. This includes terrorist (individuals or groups) actions directed against defenseless targets. Prolonged periods of intense, continuous operations under all types of conditions that tax soldiers to the limits of their physiological and emotional endurance.