Ojanen Tommi, Margolis L, van der Sanden K, Haman F, Kingma B, Simonelli G
Finnish Defence Research Agency, Järvenpää, Finland
USARIEM, Natick, Massachusetts, USA.
BMJ Mil Health. 2024 Oct 1. doi: 10.1136/military-2024-002740.
Cold weather operations are logistically difficult to orchestrate and extremely challenging for soldiers. Decades of research and empirical evidence indicate that humans are extremely vulnerable to cold and that individual responses are highly variable. In this context, it may be necessary to develop personalised strategies to sustain soldiers' performance and ensure overall mission success in the cold. Systematic cold weather training is essential for soldiers to best prepare to operate during, and recover from, cold weather operations. The purpose of this review is to highlight key aspects of cold weather training, including (1) human responses to cold, (2) nutrition, (3) sleep and (4) protective equipment requirements. Bringing science to practice to improve training principles can facilitate soldiers performing safely and effectively in the cold. Cold weather training prepares soldiers for operations in cold, harsh environments. However, decreases in physical, psychological and thermoregulatory performance have been reported following such training, which influences operational ability and increases the overall risk of injuries. When optimising the planning of field training exercises or operational missions, it is important to understand the soldiers' physical and cognitive performance capacity, as well as their capacity to cope and recover during and after the exercise or mission. Even though the body is fully recovered in terms of body composition or hormonal concentrations, physical or cognitive performance can still be unrecovered. When overlooked, symptoms of overtraining and risk of injury may increase, decreasing operational readiness.
寒冷天气行动在后勤保障方面难以协调，对士兵来说极具挑战性。数十年的研究和实证证据表明，人类极易受到寒冷影响，而且个体反应差异很大。在这种情况下，可能有必要制定个性化策略，以维持士兵的表现，并确保在寒冷环境下任务整体取得成功。系统的寒冷天气训练对于士兵为寒冷天气行动做好最佳准备以及从行动中恢复至关重要。本综述的目的是强调寒冷天气训练的关键方面，包括（1）人类对寒冷的反应、（2）营养、（3）睡眠和（4）防护装备要求。将科学应用于实践以改进训练原则，有助于士兵在寒冷环境中安全、有效地执行任务。寒冷天气训练让士兵为在寒冷、恶劣环境中的行动做好准备。然而，据报道，此类训练后士兵的身体、心理和体温调节能力会下降，这会影响作战能力并增加受伤的总体风险。在优化野外训练演习或作战任务的规划时，了解士兵的身体和认知表现能力，以及他们在演习或任务期间及之后的应对和恢复能力非常重要。即使身体成分或激素浓度方面身体已完全恢复，身体或认知表现仍可能未恢复。如果被忽视，过度训练的症状和受伤风险可能会增加，从而降低作战准备状态。
