Photo By Alexandra Shea | U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Jonathan Rash, 1900th Medical Detachment (Preventive Medicine),...... read more read more
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LOP BURI, Thailand – U.S. Army Soldiers attached to the 1863rd Medical Detachment (Preventive Medicine), 388th Medical Brigade (Multifunctional), recently arrived in Lop Buri, Thailand to help support U.S. forces taking part in Hanuman Guardian 25 by ensuring their base camp resources and supplies are safe, so the warfighters could continue to train with the Royal Thai Army.
“Our focus is to provide assessments of preventive medicine measures such as water quality, air quality, food, and sanitation on sites. It really focuses on how we can decrease and prevent disease and non-battle injuries on our Soldiers,” said Capt. Kidron Knox, commander of the 1863rd Med. Det. (PM), Columbia, Missouri. “We are keeping Warfighters in the fight.”
A 2018 study, titled “A 12-Year Analysis of Nonbattle Injury Among US Service Members Deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan,” found that approximately one-third of injuries during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars resulted from non-battle injuries, and that the portion of NBIs was steady for 12 years.
Non-battle injuries can include sickness caused by food poisoning, viral and bacterial infections caused by contaminated water supplies, vehicle accidents, slips and falls, and training mishaps.
The study’s conclusion stated that “understanding the possible causes of NBI during military operations may be useful to target protective measures and safety interventions, thereby conserving fighting strength on the battlefield.”
Knox and his team of three did just that by conducting a base camp inspection on a recently erected field training site in Ban Dai Lang for the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colorado.
The team inspected a mobile kitchen, cold and dry food storage, Soldier living areas, dining areas, as well as shower and restrooms. The team collected water samples from sinks and drinking water supplies to ensure they are free of parasites and harmful levels of chemicals. They also measured decibel levels of generators to ensure they wouldn’t cause hearing loss after long-term exposure.
All water samples returned with negative results, meaning the water supplies were safe to drink and use for personal hygiene.
The team also searched for signs of insects or rodents, often referred to as vectors, that have the potential to carry illnesses or life threatening diseases.
Frequently found across Thailand’s military installations are stray cats and dogs. While threats of infections and diseases carried by these animals are low, it must still be taken into consideration. These animals are often friendly, but they often are not vaccinated.
“We are familiar with General Order One that says no drinking, but it also says ‘do not maintain and house stray and feral animals.’ That's not because they are a nuisance, but because they have the opportunity to transmit rabies,” said Chief Warrant Officer 4 Ronald Todd, 993rd Medical Detachment (Veterinary Services), Aurora, Colorado. “Once a human contracts rabies and starts showing signs and symptoms, it’s over. Rabies has a near 99.7% fatality rate.”
All Soldiers were warned not to approach or pet the local stray animals during the exercise.
Once the base camp inspections were completed, the team compiled a detailed report of findings that were presented to the 4ID command teams along with courses of corrective actions to ensure the findings would cause no harm to Soldiers.
“Sharing findings and suggested corrective actions to commanders can better help them with future planning,” Knox said. “Practicing disease and non-battle injury prevention during training better prepares these units, and our unit, to keep Soldiers in the fight in the event of a conflict.”
The team continued to conduct inspections and collect samples for testing throughout the exercise to ensure the health and safety of not only U.S. forces, but the Thai Royal Army forces that use U.S. resources during joint training events.
“If U.S. combat arms are the tip of the spear,” said Staff Sgt. Jonathan Rash, 1900th Medical Detachment, Springfield, Missouri. “Then you can visualize preventive medicine as the shaft of the spear. We help keep the tip of the spear sharp and pointed at the enemy.”
| Date Taken: | 03.14.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 03.24.2025 19:34 |
| Story ID: | 493632 |
| Location: | LOP BURI, TH |
| Web Views: | 45 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Preventive Medicine Keeps Warfighters Mission Ready, by Alexandra Shea, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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