DRDC-Toronto, Defence Research and Development Canada, Ontario, Canada.
University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
J Sci Med Sport. 2021 Oct;24(10):954-962. doi: 10.1016/j.jsams.2020.11.010. Epub 2020 Dec 15.
Soldier performance in the Arctic depends on planning and training, protective equipment, and human physiological limits. The purpose of this review was to highlight the span of current research on enhancing soldier effectiveness in extreme cold and austere environments.
The practices of seasoned soldiers who train in the Arctic and cold-dwelling natives inform performance strategies. We provide examples of research and technology that build on these concepts.
Examples of current performance research include evaluation of equipment and tactics such as the bioenergetics of load carriage over snow in Norwegian exercises; Canadian field monitoring of hand temperatures and freezing cold injuries for better protection of manual dexterity; and Dutch predictive modeling of cold-wet work tolerances. Healthy young men can respond to cold with a substantial thermogenic response based on US and Canadian studies on brown adipose tissue and other mechanisms of non-shivering thermogenesis; the potential advantage of greater fat insulation is offset in obese unfit subjects by a smaller thermogenic response. Current physiological studies are addressing previously unanswered problems of cold acclimation procedures, thermogenic enhancement and regulation, and modulation of sympathetic activation, all of which may further enhance cold survival and expand the performance envelope.
There is an inseparable behavioral component to soldier performance in the Arctic, and even the best equipment does not benefit soldiers who have not trained in the actual environment. Training inexperienced soldiers to performance limits may be helped with personal monitoring technologies and predictive models.
士兵在北极地区的表现取决于规划和训练、防护装备以及人体的生理极限。本文旨在强调当前关于提高士兵在极端寒冷和恶劣环境下效能的研究范围。
在北极地区训练的经验丰富的士兵和在寒冷环境中生活的当地人的实践为表现策略提供了信息。我们提供了基于这些概念的研究和技术示例。
目前的表现研究示例包括评估装备和战术，例如在挪威演习中在雪地上搬运负荷的生物能量学；加拿大对手部温度和冻伤的实地监测，以更好地保护手的灵活性；荷兰对冷湿工作耐受性的预测建模。根据美国和加拿大关于棕色脂肪组织和其他非颤抖产热机制的研究，健康的年轻男性可以对寒冷做出大量的产热反应；肥胖和不适合的受试者由于产热反应较小，因此较大的脂肪隔热优势被抵消。目前的生理研究正在解决以前未解决的冷适应程序、产热增强和调节以及交感神经激活的调节问题，所有这些都可能进一步提高寒冷生存能力并扩大表现范围。
在北极地区，士兵的表现有一个不可分割的行为组成部分，即使是最好的装备也不能使未经实际环境训练的士兵受益。使用个人监测技术和预测模型可能有助于将没有经验的士兵训练到性能极限。
