Posted on Jul 1, 2014
Should the military revise training to reduce combat injuries
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Studies like these are highlighting what appears to be a problem on the rise. I was not around during the WWI and WWII endings, and I was too young after Vietnam to know whether this problem existed though I would say it was probably the same problem. Should the military invest in body mechanics training to better equip military members to cope with the non-standard rigors or combat? Are the injuries able to be mitigated with changes in routine exercise or training ops?
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Posted 10 y ago
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"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." Benjamin Disraeli
Statistics can be skewed any way we want by just picking and choosing the people we include in our studies. Not many civilians use their bodies in the same way as troops in combat or even just on ships at sea use them every day. Comparative studies are great and wonderful, but apples are never oranges.
Training is most important if we are to be prepared to go into dangerous situations of any type. We used to train to fight fires by going into compartments in bright light and using uncharged hoses, usually not even in full FF Gear. Sailors at sea soon discovered that this was not very effective and now go in smoke filled, dark compartments in full FF gear dragging charged hoses.
Do we practice combat on a beach in swim suits, I hope not. Full gear in Hostile conditions makes more sense. Ft. Bragg may not be Baghdad, but we can make things harder by doing things at night, fighting in "streets," and other ways. Just a long winded way of saying what I have said before - TRAIN LIKE WE FIGHT.
Statistics can be skewed any way we want by just picking and choosing the people we include in our studies. Not many civilians use their bodies in the same way as troops in combat or even just on ships at sea use them every day. Comparative studies are great and wonderful, but apples are never oranges.
Training is most important if we are to be prepared to go into dangerous situations of any type. We used to train to fight fires by going into compartments in bright light and using uncharged hoses, usually not even in full FF Gear. Sailors at sea soon discovered that this was not very effective and now go in smoke filled, dark compartments in full FF gear dragging charged hoses.
Do we practice combat on a beach in swim suits, I hope not. Full gear in Hostile conditions makes more sense. Ft. Bragg may not be Baghdad, but we can make things harder by doing things at night, fighting in "streets," and other ways. Just a long winded way of saying what I have said before - TRAIN LIKE WE FIGHT.
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When I read the Times article I had several questions regarding the scope and actual data used for comparison. Specifically, were the civilians being used in the comparison a random sampling or were these individual engaged in work / training/ jobs similar to those in the military survey with injuries?
Don't get me wrong - data and comparison is good - but only if done properly. Data, statistics, etc can be skewed any which way. For instance, you tell me you want to slant a specific study and you don't give me parameters I can provide you with a plethora of data that supports your point of view. Yet the facts behind the numbers and data will be useless at best and false at the extreme.
Just grabbing several thousand people out of ether and comparing them to military personnel is a total distortion. While the 4th estate has it's moments - I'm never certain nowdays whether the 4th estate is pushing an agenda or not. More often than not, the 4th estate today is pushing their owners personal agenda.
Don't get me wrong - data and comparison is good - but only if done properly. Data, statistics, etc can be skewed any which way. For instance, you tell me you want to slant a specific study and you don't give me parameters I can provide you with a plethora of data that supports your point of view. Yet the facts behind the numbers and data will be useless at best and false at the extreme.
Just grabbing several thousand people out of ether and comparing them to military personnel is a total distortion. While the 4th estate has it's moments - I'm never certain nowdays whether the 4th estate is pushing an agenda or not. More often than not, the 4th estate today is pushing their owners personal agenda.
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I'm sure there are ways to mitigate injuries in training, but we must keep the training realistic as well. When you hit the ground in the combat zone, there won't be any padding to ease your fall and the enemy won't pull any punches or hesitate to kill you. So long as the training retains realism, I'm all for certain changes that prevent injury.
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