Page 8 - Ft. Huachuca Scout 6-26-15

8A The Scout FRIDAY, JUNE 26, 2015

Air Force: AFRL bio-signature research may
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By Michele Eaton Patterson firefighters to help test body chemistry before and after extreme fatigue
or activity. The researchers put the firefighters through grueling firefighter com-
88th Air Base Wing bat simulation challenges, and then tested their physiological state, which included
heart rate and variability and cortisol levels, among other things.
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio — Imagine facing down a
raging fire, up close, with little or no time to save lives and protect property, hauling “The point of both of the studies is to be able to tell which biomarkers can tell
75-pound hoses up multiple flights of stairs; carrying victims out and repeatedly us something about their mental capabilities while physically exhausted,” Shia said.
putting your life on the line. Then imagine doing it nearly every day. “What would mark an increase in stress and what does that mean for human perfor-
mance? And if we find that relationship, the next question is how do we augment
It’s an extreme job and the constant stress can cost the lives of emergency per- that or fix it?”
sonnel. To help prevent this, the Air Force Research Laboratory’s 711th Human
Performance Wing at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is looking for ways The need is immediate, so the team is currently writing a research protocol that
to predict, measure and minimize that stress by isolating the biomarker signatures will allow them to give firefighters supplements like didehydroepiandrosterone
that govern it. (DHEA), which can help counteract the effects of prolonged stress by decreasing
high cortisol levels. But nutritional supplements like DHEA only work on individu-
According to Wright-Patterson AFB Fire Chief Jacob King, health problems re- als in need and who exhibit high cortisol: DHEA ratios. The key to effective supple-
lated to chronic stress are the leading cause of firefighter deaths, most often in the mentation is isolating the exact biomarker expressions of stress for a particular
form of heart attacks. Just about anything can cause emotional stress, but AFRL’s group so that they can be used predictively, Shia said.
Bio-Physiology of Stress research team is focusing primarily on physical conse-
quences associated with the extreme and chronic stress of emergency response op- “Understanding the response our body provides during these types of events
erations. (will help) us better understand how to prevent cardiovascular events from occur-
ring, or predict when an event will occur,” King said.
“The importance of biomarker signatures of our Airmen and first responders
in high stress environments has become increasingly important as advances in Shia hopes to be able to isolate, sense and track stress signatures in real time, in
sensor development will transition biomarker analysis from the laboratory to the the field, and manage them with supplements in a nasal spray, pill or injection. To
emergency management teams and Air Force operators,” said Dr. Regina Shia, the get there, the team is working with other AFRL research efforts as part of AFRL’s
Bio-physiology of Stress team lead for AFRL’s 711 HPW’s Cognitive Performance Signature Tracking for Optimized Nutrition and Training program, STRONG.
Optimization Section.
“These firefighters have been stressed out for years,” Shia said. “They don’t real-
According to Shia, when a stressful event occurs, the body reacts with a complex ize how much stress they’re under because they’re used to it. Anything we can do
chain of chemical events, decreasing pain sensitivity and suppressing appetite, for for them, we want to try to do.”
example, and ending in the “flight or fight” response. This is healthy and effective
for short-lived danger situations, but over time, it can lead to cardiac problems and STRONG pulls together researchers in physiology, bio-signatures, physical
other health issues. This is especially true for emergency first responders like fire- training, nutrition and supplementation and sensors, and takes a holistic approach
fighters. to optimizing human performance.

To help figure out how to pinpoint the exact chemicals, or biomarkers, the body “I hope after further evaluation we could reduce the number of firefighters dying
uses to deal with stress, Shia’s team brought in a group of experienced Wright- while responding to, during or after a structure fire or major accident,” King said.
“If we could just save one firefighter it would be worth it.”

From GRAY EAGLE3DJH$ forts to get unmanned systems integrated into Naval vessels support
the way the Army fights, which goes beyond operations overseas
“Every weapon system that gets fielded goes the system.
through an operational test. We owe that to the U.S. NAVY PHOTO BY MASS COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST 3RD CLASS ROBERT PRICE
Soldier to make sure that what we are procuring “In this test environment we tend to be very 7KH0LOLWDU\6HDOLIW&RPPDQGÀHHWUHSOHQLVKPHQWRLOHU8616-RKQ/HQWKDOO
for them actually does what we intend it to do.” materiel-centric and focused on what the ma- (T-AO 189), left, sends fuel and supplies to the guided-missile destroyer USS
teriel is doing,” von Eschenbach said. “It’s the Oscar Austin (DDG 79) during a replenishment-at-sea Monday. Oscar Austin
Cote added that events, like the FOTE, give training. It’s our concepts and doctrine. It’s how is conducting naval operations in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations in the
the Army a data point by which to evaluate we’re organized. And the capability that we Mediterranean Sea in support of U.S. national security interests in Europe.
performance and make additional improve- have is a direct reflection of not only the capaci-
ments as needed. ty we have to field a system but the capability of
the Soldiers to employ it and use it as we see fit.
The Gray Eagle test is actually more rigor-
ous than its initial OTE, which was completed “I think we have made great strides in the
in early 2013, due to the expanded scope of the past 10 years. But I think we have a long way
test that includes multiple daily missions and to go to get unmanned systems on par with our
split based operations from two sites. manned aviation systems and get the most out
of their capability.”
Results from the test will not be available
until months down the road, according to Cote. The Army is fielding its seventh, eighth and
“This test is being done by an independent test ninth companies with Gray Eagles this fiscal
organization to ensure that the equipment un- year for a planned total of 15 fielded companies.
dergoes the rigor of operational scenarios by
Soldiers who will be using this capability. The There are more than 2,000 OSRVT sys-
test results will help inform our path forward,” tems supporting operational needs in theater
Cote said. including the current version under test. The
Army has about 1,000 of the current version
Col. Thomas von Eschenbach, Training and of the system fielded.
Doctrine Command capability manager of
UAS, said the Army is undergoing a lot of ef-