EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. — Workforce members with the U.S. Military Medical Materiel Improvement Exercise braved the arctic chilly and hurricane pressure winds as a part of environmental testing held July 11-15, 2024, at Eglin Air Drive Base.
Working with business companions and take a look at engineers belonging to the U.S. Air Drive’s McKinley Climatic Laboratory, the USAMMDA superior builders put a number of arctic shelter kits and assist methods by means of their paces. The gear was uncovered to a variety of local weather circumstances in a lab setting to evaluate their capacity to face up to a number of the most brutal circumstances present in an arctic setting, in line with Jack Philpott, an assistant program supervisor with USAMMDA’s Soldier Medical Gadgets Challenge Administration Workplace.
To evaluate the progress of the arctic shelter equipment and assist methods packages, the MCL take a look at engineers and the SMD improvement staff deployed 4 normal situation shelters inside the principle take a look at chamber, which is roughly 252 ft broad, 260 ft deep and 70 ft tall. The vary of circumstances throughout 5 days of testing — with temperatures as little as minus 60 F and winds as excessive as 80 mph — gave the event staff exact knowledge to measure this system’s strengths and areas for enchancment, mentioned Philpott.
“We’re testing to be sure that the methods will even work below these excessive circumstances. At such chilly temperatures, screens and materials can crack, water will flash-freeze, oils and adhesives can dry and fail, and engines can probably freeze and never operate,” mentioned Philpott, who manages the acquisition, assist sustainment and refurbishment of hospital middle medical shelters and water methods for SMD. “We additionally captured temperature knowledge on the shelters, figuring out how properly the methods will hold personnel and casualties heat, in search of leaks, chilly spots, and different potential weaknesses and limitations.”
Whereas the swampy Florida Panhandle in July could also be an surprising place for arctic testing, the McKinley lab is a key part of the U.S. Air Drive 96th Take a look at Wing’s capabilities in assist of the U.S. Division of Protection. It contains climate-controlled chambers that simulate practically any climate and environmental circumstances discovered across the globe, from temperatures as little as detrimental 80 levels Fahrenheit to drenching monsoon rains to sandstorms with 60 knot winds.
The lab’s distinctive capabilities make it an ideal place to vet growing army gear — just like the USAMMDA arctic shelter equipment and assist methods — and provides superior medical builders a greater understanding of how the gear will face up to even the harshest environments in a managed setting, in line with Philpott.
“[MCL offers] measurement and scale. It’s the one environmental chamber massive sufficient to deploy a number of shelter methods [at the same time]. Some will maintain a single shelter, however solely MCL allowed us to deploy all 4 kits and methods and a legacy ‘management’ shelter directly below similar circumstances,” mentioned Philpott. “It’s important to know forward of deployment whether or not a system is able to working in each environmental situation that it might be deployed to. The battlefield is just not the place to find {that a} system is just not in a position to face up to the intense chilly. Discovering any [system] limitations whereas nonetheless in improvement will keep away from pricey test-fix-test cycles later within the acquisition cycle and keep away from having a system rendered inoperable within the discipline.”
The week of testing took months of planning and partnering with stakeholders throughout the DOD and improvement business. In the course of the assessments, MCL engineers performed a sequence of checks in the principle chamber whereas USAMMDA’s improvement staff and business companions noticed and tracked the shelter kits and assist methods for structural and environmental integrity, whereas holding warfighter security prime of thoughts.
“We [also tested] to make sure that the shelters is not going to soften the permafrost below the tents, which may probably create puddles that would leak into the shelters,” mentioned Philpott. “Ought to an individual step right into a puddle at these temperatures, [it could] lead rapidly to chilly climate harm — frostbite might be instantaneous.”
Because the DoD and U.S. Military proceed to give attention to modernization for future operations, together with these within the arctic areas of the world, the USAMMDA SMD staff is specializing in the distinctive challenges introduced by excessive chilly in austere environments. Based on Philpott, the MCL take a look at was an necessary step to making sure the shelter kits and assist methods are on monitor to satisfy the wants of frontline medical suppliers within the joint pressure.
“The information acquired right here will assist establish limitations that may be addressed in future design turns and assist inform coaching and doctrine for these methods ought to they ultimately deploy.”
By T. T. Parish
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