How Troops Can Beat the Heat and Increase Military Readiness with Military HVAC Units

The United States Military relies on a wide range of equipment to protect and serve the country. They use everything from aircraft to combat vehicles and satellites to firearms. But there is one piece of equipment that is making an increasing impact on military readiness — and it’s something many Americans have in their own homes… 

Surprisingly, one of the most important modern tools for military readiness is a specifically designed military HVAC unit! 

Believe it or not, military HVAC units make all the difference when it comes to military readiness and the health of recruits and soldiers. This is because military HVAC units help overcome a huge obstacle for military personnel: high temperatures.

Why High Temperatures Matter for Military Readiness

High temperatures are not the first thing that comes to mind when most people consider national security. But extreme heat can have a direct impact on military readiness. 

Heat Harms Military Personnel 

Intense outdoor military training paired with record-breaking temperatures can be a dangerous combination. A challenging military workout is already enough to increase someone’s core body temperature. But when heat from exercise pairs with outdoor temperatures above 90 degrees, a recruit’s or soldier’s temperature can rise above their body’s limit.

It doesn’t help that the number of heatwaves in the U.S. has been steadily rising for the past several decades. This increase has had a direct impact on the number of heat-related illnesses. In fact, the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch reports that cases of heat stroke and exhaustion have been rising among active U.S. Military members since 2015.

Of course, it’s important for soldiers to take time from training to fully recover from heat-illness. Unfortunately, this slows training and leads to a decrease in military readiness over time. 

Extreme Temperatures Prevent Training 

Military leaders often have to cancel outdoor training to protect their personnel from the heat. For instance, Retired U.S. Marine Brigadier General Stephen Cheney explains, “when temperatures reach 90 or above in the military, we call it a black flag day and literally raise a flag where all outdoor physical training stops.”

Pausing outdoor training for all military recruits is a proactive step to protecting their health; however, it has big drawbacks for military readiness. A halt on training results in longer training and preparation for military personnel.

One solution military leaders turn to in extreme heat is indoor training. Unfortunately, this option isn’t available on every military base. So pausing outdoor training can mean pausing all training. 

How U.S. Troops Can Beat the Heat

The good news is, there is a way to protect military personnel from heat without slowing down military readiness. Military bases can quickly install fabric structures equipped with military HVAC units that protect recruits and soldiers from the heat as they train indoors.

Indoor training facilities are ideal for military bases that don’t have a surplus of training space. Overcrowding indoor spaces are especially concerning in light of the recent worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. With an indoor training facility, sheltered space can safely be increased without sacrificing on social distancing measures. 

Plus, indoor training facilities also increase the efficiency of military bases, allowing for recruit and soldier training  to be performed  year-round! 

Ideal Conditions for Military Training Facilities

So, what qualities should indoor military training facilities have to keep military personnel safe from the heat? Military leaders might consider a structure that has the following:

• Protection from prolonged sun exposure (and harmful UV rays)
• Ample air circulation
• Temperature control (for hot and cold climates)
• Engineered and safe structure
•  Indoor space to for all training activities

[Related: How Alaska Defense’s 24-Hour Stockpile of Fabric Structures Aids Military Operations]

Training Facilities With Military HVAC Units

Engineered fabric structures paired with military HVAC units, like those from Alaska Defense, offer an ideal solution for safe indoor military training facilities. Here are some of the key highlights.

Robust Protection

Alaska Defense provide an entire line of military-division products, built specifically to withstand extreme environments and support military operations around the world. 

In particular, military personnel will be protected from harmful UV rays from the sun and increase energy-efficiency with Alaska Defense EnerLayer® insulation systems. It is an easy-to-install insulation system that can be added to any engineered fabric building from Alaska Defense.

Protection from UV rays helps lessen the likelihood of heat-related illness. Our indoor training centers quickly transform any open space into a weatherproof enclosure where training can safely be performed.

Modern Military HVAC Units

The benefits of engineered fabric structures for military personnel’s safety don’t stop there. Protection from UV rays is just the start of combating heat-related illnesses. 

Ideal conditions for safe military training in the heat include temperature control. Aptly, engineered fabric structures from Alaska Defense can incorporate military HVAC units to accomplish just that.

In particular, Alaska Defense’s environmental control unit (ECU) helps maintain cool (and warm) temperatures inside a training facility. Designed specifically for military applications, the Alaska ECU^® keeps troops safe from:

• Extreme temperatures
• Dirt and dust
• High humidity

These additional layers of protection go above and beyond typical “off-the-shelf” HVAC systems. Plus, the portable and compact design of the Alaska ECU^® makes it easy to transport, and is designed to operate in extreme temperatures, outperforming other typical military HVAC units. 

Open-Span Design

The outdoors offers military personnel wide open space to train. Losing that open space can hinder training activities; however, using a military shelter to train doesn’t have to mean sacrificing ample training space.

In fact, one quality that makes engineered fabric structures so unique is their open-span design! Unlike typical military tents or canopies, the interior of an engineered fabric structure doesn’t have obtrusive columns or support beams. Instead, it has a single-arch or double-arch design that offers a large and unobstructed interior space for: 

• A wide range of training activities
• Training equipment of various sizes
• A flexible internal layout

Plus, engineered fabric structures come in a variety of standard and customizable sizes.

Quick Erect Shelter Systems 

Military leaders shouldn’t have to choose between their personnel’s safety and time wasted on construction. Adding an indoor training facility to a military base is quick and simple with Alaska Defense. 

Each military shelter system from Alaska Defense can be assembled in a fraction of the time when compared to other prefabricated buildings, steel buildings, wood-built structures, tilt-up concrete structures, as well as brick-and-mortar buildings.

And they are just as simple to take down as they are to set up.  Our military shelter systems are built to withstand 100 setup and strike cycles without failure. This means indoor training facilities can be installed during the hottest months and then taken down after temperatures cool, or left in place as a permanent training facility and used year-round

[Related: Main Benefits of High-Grade Military Tents]

Adding Military HVAC Units to Other Military Facilities

Of course, military HVAC units like the Alaska ECU^® are a valuable tool for increasing military readiness in training areas. But it can also be helpful to add to other military facilities in need of temperature control, including:

• Base camps and forward operating sites (FOS)
• Tactical operations centers and combat posts
• Medical shelters and mobile field hospitals
• Aircraft Hangars and TUAV Shelters

There are a variety of field-tested sizes and models to choose from with numerous customization options. 

To learn more about how Alaska Defense’s engineered fabric structures and military HVAC units can help increase military readiness on your base, contact us today. 

Telephone: +1-575-541-9116

E-mail: inquiry@aks.com