Page 129 - Journal of Special Operations Medicine - Winter 2015

Application of Medical Intelligence Prep of the Environment

A Review of Operational Vignettes

Jennifer B. Caci, MS, Vignette Editor

ABSTRACT

Medical intelligence is an underused or sometimes mis- in my career as a Brigade Combat Team (BCT) Envi-
applied tool in the protection of our Soldiers and the ronmental Science and Engineering Officer (ESEO) in
execution of nonkinetic operations. The somewhat im- the 10th Mountain Division during OIF 06-08, as the
proved infrastructure of the operational environment BCT planned to gain control of the Al Yusafiyah Ther-
in Iraq and Afghanistan led to an inevitable sense of mal Power Plant (AYTPP) on the Euphrates River. The
complacency in regard to the threat of disease nonbattle AYTPP was one of Saddam Husain’s incomplete gov-
injury (DNBI). The picture changed somewhat in 2010 ernmental projects that was used as an insurgent safe
with the advent of the village stability program and the haven for Al Qaeda of Iraq (AQI) operatives on the
establishment of SOF camps in austere locations with border of Baghdad and Al Anbar Provinces. Because
degraded living situations rife with exposure risks. In of the potential to position a battalion headquarters at
addition, the increasing deployments to unstable loca- AYTPP, concerns from a Force Health Protection (FHP)
tions around the globe, reminiscent of typical Special standpoint arose for the infantry Soldiers’ potential
Operations Forces (SOF) missions before the Global exposure to toxic industrial chemical (TIC) hazards at
War on Terrorism, indicate a need for better preparation the facility. Following a request for support from the
for deployment from the standpoint of disease risk and National Center for Medical Intelligence (NCMI), their
force health protection. A knowledge gap has developed analysts created an Industrial Hazard Summary using
because we simply did not need to apply as stringent satellite imagery to identify suspected TIC hazards in-
an evaluation of DNBI risk in environments where im- side the AYTPP, and also those within a 10km radius,
proved life support mitigated the risk for us. The tools to include the facilities across the Euphrates River into
necessary to decrease or even eliminate the impact of Al Anbar Province. The intelligence was shared with the
DNBI exist but they must be shared and implemented. BCT’s S-2 because the facilities identified in the NCMI
This article will present four vignettes from current and summary on the eastern edge of Al Anbar were of op-
former SOF Force Health Protection personnel starting erational value for the BCT’s future tactical objectives.
with a simple method of executing Medical Intelligence This experience early in my career as an ESEO solidified
Prep of the Environment (MIPOE) and highlighting the operational benefit of medical intelligence and the
situations in which it either was or could have been importance of collaboration with intelligence officers at
implemented to mitigate risk and decrease the impact various organizational levels.
on mission accomplishment and individual operators. A
follow-on article will present vignettes of the successful The operational requirement for the reestablishment of
application of MIPOE to nonkinetic operations. an effective MIPOE program was evident upon my tran-
sition to the 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) [1SFG
Keywords: Medical Intelligence Prep of the Environment; (A)]. One of the Battalion Commanders had concerns
nonkinetic operations; disease nonbattle injury with emerging diseases and evacuation plans for his
ODA’s upcoming Joint Combined Exchange Training
(JCET) mission in Southeast Asia; because of these con-
cerns he requested an assessment of the medical portion
Foundational MIPOE Questions of the pre-mission Concept of Operations (CONOPs).
for Effective Force Health Protection Upon review of the first two upcoming CONOPs, one
Dennis M. Rufolo, MS to a military base near Dhaka, Bangladesh, and another
to a remote area in Nepal, both medical evacuation
he utilization of medical intelligence as a tool to gain plans only stated “Utilize ISOS (International SOS );
™
Tan operational advantage was initially evident early rotary wing assets available within 45 minutes.” After

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