Photo By Joey Rhodes II | FORT BENNING, Ga - The Maneuver Center of Excellence and Fort Benning Garrison, in...... read more read more
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FORT BENNING, Ga. — The Maneuver Center of Excellence and Fort Benning Garrison, in partnership with US Ignite, installed a network of advanced heat sensor stations across the Fort Benning installation from Feb. 25-26, 2025, marking a step forward in enhanced heat safety management for Soldiers and their families.
The stations, equipped with a range of advanced sensors, provide a real-time picture of temperature, humidity, wind, and cloud coverage conditions across Fort Benning. The Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WGBT) derived from these values offers unique insights into the actual heat and humidity experienced by Soldiers during training.
"Extreme weather conditions, especially heat, pose a direct threat to the readiness and lethality of our warfighters," said Maj. Gen. Colin Tuley, commanding general of Fort Benning. "By equipping our leaders with the advanced tools to monitor and manage these environmental risks, we're enabling our Soldiers to train effectively and safely."
Previously, Fort Benning Soldiers used a manual approach to heat data collection, relying on individual unit-level monitors and hand-written logs. The installation of the new stations represents a major leap forward in the automation and standardization of heat data collection.
The data collected by the stations feeds into a centralized Heat Risk Management platform, creating a comprehensive dashboard that visualizes trends and generates alerts for safety officers, range officers, and officers-in-charge, allowing them to proactively manage heat-related risks and make informed decisions to protect the wellbeing of Fort Benning’s warfighters.
Following a successful pilot program with the 198th Infantry Brigade in 2024, the Heat Risk Management program has expanded with the installation of 10 new sensor stations throughout the installation. This expansion is designed to improve data collection by focusing on areas with high training activity. The new stations have been strategically placed at key training locations for Infantry, Armor, Airborne, and Ranger trainees, including Sand Hill, Harmony Church, Fryar Drop Zone, and Camp Darby, among others.
“The Heat Risk Management application standardizes, centralizes, and streamlines heat monitoring to improve environmental risk mitigation strategies and help the installation decrease the number of heat-related incidents,” said Dr. Mojdeh Mahdavi, US Ignite Smart Bases program manager. “The application has been released and tested twice by the Fort Benning safety officers and endorsed for making heat monitoring accurate, quick, and easy.”
The Heat Risk Management initiative at Fort Benning began as a collaborative agreement between the installation and US Ignite, funded through a congressional appropriation to the Engineer Research & Development Center and awarded to US Ignite through Commercial Solution Opening. The project aims to modernize heat risk management and address the challenges posed by Georgia's high and variable temperatures, which can significantly impact training effectiveness and overall readiness.
| Date Taken: | 03.07.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 03.07.2025 16:48 |
| Story ID: | 492281 |
| Location: | FORT BENNING, GEORGIA, US |
| Web Views: | 172 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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