Page 116 - JSOM Fall 2019

seen by medical personnel. The study that obtained injuries FIGURE 1 Parachute-related injuries at three military posts,
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only during daytime administrative/nontactical jumps had a 1946–1963. 4,16,17
considerably lower injury rate that those collecting injuries
during the entire course, 12,14 as would be expected since risker
jumps (at night and with combat loads ) were excluded.
10
Operational Units
Kiel compiled military parachuting “accident statistics” from
4
three military posts at three different time periods and these
data are shown in Figure 1. These data overlap earlier com-
pilations by Neel and Roche, but the numbers were identi-
17
16
cal because they appear to be obtained from the same source.
Kiel cautions “statistics on accidents from different posts are
4
not necessarily comparable, however, for the reporting of ac-
cidents from the units to the post safety officer is not always
complete and unit surgeons often use different criteria to deter-
mine when a man should not report for duty.” Nonetheless,
4
the data when plotted by years at least suggests a reduction in abrasions) and major (e.g., fractures, sprains) injuries, so in-
time-loss injuries over the time period. McClatchie compiled jury definitions are similar.
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injuries from August 1953 to May 1954 in the 82nd Airborne
Division at Fort Bragg, NC. The injury incidence in this study Various factors that increase injury risk were present in these
10
was 5.2/1000 jumps. Note in Table 1 that this injury incidence operations including combat loads, 25–28 high winds, 25,26 night
is about what might be expected between the years 1949 and jumps, 26,27 and rough drop zones 25,26 The study with the largest
1956. However, the number of jumps in the McClatchie arti- number of risk factors had the highest injury incidence. The
26
cle were estimated and it is not clear if the injuries involve two more recent operations conducted in 1996 and 2015 27,28
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time-loss as in the Kiel article. Thus, the McClatchie data are had considerably lower injury rates than the two earlier ones
4
not included in the graph. conducted in 1982 and 1991, 25,26 but the later studies also had
fewer risk factors.
There are two studies 19,20 involving parachute injuries in the
3rd Ranger battalion at Ft Benning, GA. Only injuries resulting Combat Jumps
in ≥1 days of limited duty were included and injury definitions Table 1 shows three studies examining military parachuting
were similar in the two investigations. 19,20 It is not clear when injury rates in combat operations including a jump by Rang-
data were collected in the earlier study since it was not stated ers into Panama and operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. 30,31
29
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in the article, but it was likely 1990–1995 or earlier based Injury incidence is highly variable ranging from 19 to 401 in-
on publication date. The later study was in 1996–1997 and juries/1,000 jumps. Risk factors included night jumps, 29–31
20
10
injury rates were lower than in the earlier study. The overall combat loads, 29–31 and an airfield drop zones. The highest
19
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incidence seems higher than other studies collected at the same injury incidence was the jump by the Rangers into Panama
time 21,22 in an infantry division, but Rangers performed more 1993. In 2001 and 2003 jumps by Rangers under similar
29
night jumps, more combat loaded jumps and jumps onto land- conditions in Afghanistan and Iraq had considerably lower in-
ing strips, all factors shown to increase injury risk. 10 jury incidence, although the injury definition excluded minor
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injuries. The lowest injury incidence was in the most recent
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Finally, studies involving primarily the XVIII Airborne operation, which included a very advantageous drop zone and
Corps 21–23 and a Marine Reconnaissance unit overseas suggest winds that were listed as “favorable,” although the specific
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a relatively stable injury incidence of about 8 injuries/1,000 wind speed was not provided. 31
jumps between 1993 and 2013 in operational units. In the
Marine reconnaissance unit study, it is not clear how the data Summary
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were collected, but the investigators did collect both more seri-
ous and less serious injuries, as did the XVIII Airborne Corps This analysis of trends in military parachute-related injuries is
studies. 21–23 In the two earlier XVIII Airborne Corps studies 21,22 limited by different injury definitions, different ways of data
data were collected from emergency room records but the later collections, and the injury-related risk factors that differed in
study indicated that 95% of injuries were transported to the different airborne operations. Nonetheless, when studies with
23
emergency room and documented in hospital medical records similar injury definitions compared it appeared that injury in-
suggesting a similar injury collection mechanism. cidence has considerably declined over time. In the first year of
operations at the US Army Airborne School, injury incidence
Single Jump Operations was 27 injuries/1000 jumps, by 1993 it was 10 injuries/1000
Table 1 shows the 4 studies 25–28 reporting on single jump op- jumps, and by 2010, 6/injuries/1000 jumps. Data in opera-
erations used for training purposes. These operations were tional airborne units suggested a decline in time-loss injuries
generally reported because of their uniqueness and injury inci- from 6/1000 to 3/1000 to 1/1000 in the periods 1946–1949,
dence varied widely between about 25 and 150 injuries/1000 1956–1962, and 1962–1963, respectively. When all injuries
jumps. Two studies 27,28 involved joint training operations of (not just time-loss injuries) were considered, the injury inci-
US and the United Kingdom (UK) forces and injuries shown dence in the 1993–2013 period was about 8 injuries/1000
in Table 1 included paratroopers from both countries. All jumps. Studies involving single jump operations for training
four studies 25–28 looked at injuries reported on the drop zone and combat jumps had highly variable injury rates likely be-
and appear to collect both minor (e.g., contusion, lacerations, cause of the number and types of risk factors involved. Part

114 | JSOM Volume 19, Edition 3 / Fall 2019