The biggest killer on the battlefield has historically been illness. A topic no one wants to discuss, after all tourniquets and tactical medicine are the vogue topics right now and more interesting. People would rather look at plate carriers and armor, when a bar of soap and rag will solve more medical issues.
When I was a Hospital Corpsman the bulk of my time was spent on preventative medicine and sickcall (think of a urgent care clinic if you’ve never been in the military). While a highly visible and important part of job was the battlefield trauma, it actually occupied very little of my time.
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
-Benjamin Franklin
As Benjamin Franklin pointed out, it is much easier to prevent a problem than it is to solve one. Staying healthy in the field is much easier than trying to get better.
A part of a predeployment training package would include a block on hygiene, it seems to basic to even bother talking about. However for those individuals who weren’t normally living in the field it was important to cover, and it’s always a good reminder for the guys who were accustomed to field time.
Daily you need to wash at a minimum:
- Face
- Teeth
- Armpits
- Groin
- Butt
- Feet
- Another part that sweats a lot.
You need to wash your hands before meals and after the restroom, no changes from normal here. Bath your whole body as often as is possible. Change socks throughout the day, underwear and base layers daily, if only to turn inside out.
You need access to clean water daily for: drinking, cooking, and washing. Washing includes both body, clothes, and equipment. Two gallons a day per person is a good minimum to factor for. This gives to about a gallon to drink and cook with, and about a gallon to wash with. Here you need to factor brushing teeth, shaving, daily washing. Also cleaning cooking utensils and field washing clothes and equipment. Not keeping up on basic hygiene is a surefire way to make yourself sick in a very short order.
Setting up the camp is another important factor and was part of the responsiblity of the corpsman along with the platoon sergeant. Where people slept, ate and lived needed to be seperated from where you urinated, defected, put trash, and did any washing. Distances, wind direction, and flow or water needed to be factored.
Distances of a camp should be:
- Latrines
- 300 ft from food operations.
- Downwind and downhill if possible
- Downhill from all water sources.
- At least 50 feet from berthing areas.
- Trash
- 100 feet from foot areas.
- 100 feet from water sources.
- 150 feet downwind from camp if you are going to burn it.
Deuteronomy 23:12-14
“You shall also have a place outside the camp and go out there, and you shall have a spade among your tools, and it shall be when you sit down outside, you shall dig with it and shall turn to cover up your excrement. Since the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp to deliver you and to defeat your enemies before you, therefore your camp must be holy; and He must not see anything indecent among you or He will turn away from you.
There is a lot of practical wisdom in the Bible on keep clean, stuff which has been proven to keep you healthy. Another interesting connection I see Jesus is often referred to as the light. John 9:5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world. And if we remember the old quote: “Sunlight is the best disinfectant.” It was an example to me of biblical principles harmonizing with reality.
Part of your planning should include envirnmental factors such as: heat, cold, wet, elevation, bugs, plants, and animals. What is common everywhere, and unique to your area or the area you will be going to?
If you are setting up a camp, you need to have an idea how this works to keep everyone healthy. While this seems basic and rather boring, it’s better than everyone getting sick because the water wasn’t clean or the cook didn’t wash up.
-Joe
Outpost 95 