Sweating it out

  • Published
  • By Tech Sgt. Kent Kagarise
  • 442nd FWPA
WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. --  With the 442nd Fighter Wing's phase I operational readiness exercise in July and inspection in August, the words wet bulb will be used often, but many Citizen Airmen have never seen this mythological creature or understand its implications.

The wet bulb globe is an instrument that measures how long it takes for sweat to evaporate, as well as the heat index and ambient air temperature. It allows the Airmen of the 442nd Medical Squadron who work out of the 509th Bioenvironmental Office to establish with wing command a heat-sensitive and efficient work schedule.

"We use it for monitoring thermal stress," said 1st Lt. Christopher Fenwick, 442nd bioenvironmental engineer. "In a nut shell the wet bulb is a recommendation to the commander of what the work-rest cycle should be."

The wet bulb temperature is checked every two hours during summer unit training assemblies, but with the demands of the exercises it is currently checked once an hour.

"It's hot enough out there. When Airmen are training at high levels, wearing gear they might not normally wear, the heat can affect them quickly," Lieutenant Fenwick said.

Staff Sgt. Jacob Crawford, 442nd bioenvironmental engineering technician, said he remembers when evaporation was measured by monitoring a wet wick in order to track how long it took for the heat to dry it. He said he is impressed with the wet bulb, a newer electronic device.

"It helps us give an accurate wet bulb, which can be lower than the heat index," Sergeant Crawford said. "A lot of folks get worked up about the heat index, but the wet bulb can be lower than how hot it actually feels."

Senior Airman Angelic Werlein, 442nd bioenvironmental engineering technician, said she is less concerned with what the thermometer says when it comes to wet bulb globe temperature.

"Airmen have to be concerned with how much water is leaving their body," she said, "not how hot it feels or how hot it is."

Wet bulb globe temperature is a major concern of the 442nd FW safety office and is something Tech. Sgt. Dawn Mais of the safety office, who is also a nursing student as a civilian, experienced first-hand on two occasions.

"I fell to heat stroke once when I was taking a very common medication that contained diuretics," she said. "Because the demands of Air Force training are so much harsher, Airmen taking any medication should check with their doctor to confirm what their water intake ought to look like, because they may not be aware of the medication's effect on their body."

In Sergeant Mais' case, she said she was drinking plenty of water but did not realize how many necessary nutrients were leaving her body, which caused her to fall victim to heat exhaustion.

"That same weekend I had a friend who was prone to heat-related injuries, so she drank plenty of water the night before and throughout the day," Sergeant Mais said.

In this situation the Airman, Sergeant Mais' friend, drank too much water and suffered the same symptoms of heat stroke.

"She had a good wingman who notified the first responders she had been drinking lots of water regularly," Sergeant Mais said. "This is a prime example where communication and observation can be a matter of life in death during a summer exercise."

Lieutenant Fenwick warned that heat can be deceiving, and that even though many Airmen are young and think they can handle it, the wet bulb globe temperature, (how long it takes for sweat to evaporate) can put people on their back before they know what hit them.