European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 22, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                The primary weapon against heat injury in the desert was water. Troops were told to drink up. Lessons of the desert by Ira Dreyfuss the associated press part of America s military surplus from the persian Gulf War is a wealth of desert tested knowledge on How to beat the heat. Before they fought Iraq the army and the Marine corps fought the weather. And the military s strategy could provide textbooks for fighting heat injury at Home. The military did so Well that there were no reported heat fatalities and few cases of heat injury requiring hospitalization. Heat illness accounted for less than 1 percent of the weekly tallies of sick Call visits to Navy clinics which treated . Personnel in saudi Arabia said it. Cmdr. James r. Brooks a physician who specializes in occupational readers action line two year personnel stabilization policy to am requesting your assistance in finding the answer to a dichotomy in civilian personnel polices. As a recent Transfer from conus Continental United states had to sign an agreement that i would not take a lateral Transfer to another position for two years unless i had my supervisors agreement. However a recent message from Usa eur Headquarters stated that there Are to be no new hires from conus and that maximum Effort should be made to use personnel presently stationed in Usa eur. This two year policy severely restricts the movement of civilians within the command i have been unable to find out if anyone in the Usa eur office of the Deputy chief of staff personnel has reviewed their two year restriction policy. Understanding that a command would not want to lose someone immediately after paying for that persons relocation to Usa eur. I suggest that two years be reduced to one year. I have been told that this was a one year policy previously. Name withheld we Brucken Germany be James Biggs personnel stalling specialist civilian personnel division he Usa eur replies we appreciate the Opportunity to address Usa eur s two year stabilization policy for Quot Reader sit basically provides that employees May not change positions other than through promotion within a two year period Medicine at the Navy environmental health Center in Norfolk a. Quot we deployed in december and saw cold injuries at first then started seeing heat injuries around March. We did no to see an inordinate amount of them a about t to 2 percent sounds right Quot said an army preventive Medicine physician who served with the 7th medical come in the desert. Heat injury can Range from exasperating to fatal. Heat cramps Are painful contractions of voluntary Muscles usually As a result of Salt loss through sweating. Heat exhaustion the illness most frequently reported can result from water or Salt loss As Well As from working out. Symptoms Range from profuse sweating to nausea and vomiting. Heat stroke can include delirium and unconsciousness and can be fatal. The military borrowed heavily from israeli experience in unless released by the supervisor. The policy was implemented to Stem employee turnover within Usa eur which can run As High As 70 percent per year. That objective is still valid and therefore the policy will not be rescinded. However it does not apply to employees impacted by reorganization and workforce reduction actions our policy on restricting recruitment from conus was established to ensure that employees who face loss of their Job because of workforce reductions or consolidations have maximum placement opportunities within the theater. Polices sometimes May appear to be contradictory. Our objective is to balance personnel polices Between the need to continue to meet Mission requirements while at the same time drawing Down the workforce. While unable to anticipate All situations policies Are structured to allow for flexibility. Where they fail to pass a common senso test we Are prepared to make adjustments. The writer should Contact her his servicing civilian personnel office if she he desires further discussions of the  machine Price increase a while Many companies and groups Are welcoming the troops Back from the Gulf with discounts and other special offers the Adidas sponsored party in Nurnberg was especially Good cafes welcomed the troops Home with a 20 percent increase in the Price of vending machine sodas. Desert warfare said Roger w. Hubbard director of environmental Par physiology at the . Army research Institute of environmental Medicine in Natick mass. The United states followed the israeli example in making prevention and treatment of heat illness a major strategic focus Hubbard said. Ordinary physical training in the United states assumed new importance because people who Are in shape can tolerate heat better than those who Are not. But the heat and humidity of saudi Arabia were so intense that incoming troops were Given a Tew Days to do nothing More than get used to it Quot it was a steam Bath. It was beyond Sauna a said Marine sgt. Tony Sinagra chief of Public affairs for the 7th Marine expeditionary brigade Attlen Tonine Palms Marine corps air ground combat Center Calif. He recalls temperatures of 118 and humidity of 90 percent. Troops later exercised lightly As they adjusted. Military doctrine spelled out an increasing exercise Load to make the process go faster. In addition Many kept themselves Busy and entertained through sports and weight training. The primary weapon against heat injury however was water. Following the israeli Standard the United states made drinking water mandatory. Sinagra said Hospital corpsmen Quot would hand you a bottle and say a drink Quot the goal was to prevent troops from being thirsty without knowing it because a person can be 2 percent below his Ideal water level before he feels thirsty.,with what is termed Quot voluntary dehydration Quot the mind and body become less Sharp. And in desert conditions continued dehydration could quickly Lead to heat injury. Commanders were told to avoid activity in the hottest parts of the Day when possible the 7th medical come physician recalls that Quot some individuals would play sports in the afternoon and get dehydrated from the sweating and the heat. The commander of our division had to restrict the hours they could do any kind of sport a even horseshoes a when work had to be done in the heat it was followed by rest. Digging in helped to reduce the heat because it allowed the troops to rest in cooler Sand. Salt replacement was not prescribed because the Staple food for combat troops the prepackaged meals ready to eat had plenty. A when heat injury occurred medical corpsmen were there to treat it. The procedure was to Quot Cool the Guy off remove his clothes pour water on him have a couple of Guys with cardboard to fan the air to Cool him off and two ivs one in each Arm to replace the fluid Quot said Navy Hospital Man Chester Lovato of Twenty nine Palms California who was stationed with marines in saudi Arabia. The victim would be evacuated if necessary. Stars and stripes contributed to this report. The new Price 60 cents went into effect on my unit s machines the Day i returned. I m sure cafes can justify this Price increase they always do a wonderful Job of telling us Why prices keep going up. But can they justify their timing by the Way sodas were cheaper on the Quot Economy Quot in saudi Arabia than what cafes charged us James Fuller Niernberg Germany be sgt. Maj. Michel j. Bolduc he cafes Europe a sergeant major replies i understand your dislike for higher prices but we simply cannot keep offering a service that does t pay for itself. Cafes had the Choice of raising vending prices or eliminating vending machines at a considerable number of locations. We made the decision to raise the prices and keep the vending machines operating for All service members. I to write us or headers action line is the readers Quot court of last resort Quot striving to answer some of the questions about life overseas in a military environment or quest bus about policies and guidelines when other avenues for answers Are not readily available. If you have a question and Don t know where to turn for the answer write to headers action line co the stars and stripes. Apo 09211-4211. Alt letters must be signed and preference will be Given to those seeking information of general interest to our readers. Page 16 a the stars and stripes monday july 22, 1991