Physiological Assessments of Permeable NBC Protection Clothing for Hot Climate Conditions

Individual NBC protection can only be accomplished completely and effectively if all influencing parameters are considered separately and in the necessary extent from the beginning. Uncritical treatment of individual aspects and correlations as well as inadmissible simplifications will have fatal consequences. The duration of actions under full NBC protection depends on the structure of the NBC protective clothing to a large extent. However, it will definitely be limited by the actual environmental influences. In the end, the soldier himself, his actions and decisions are the key to success even when being optimally provided with personal equipment, well trained and able to bear physical and psychological stress. Together with an NBC protective mask, protective gloves and overboots, a combat suit with integrated NBC protection represents a complete set of NBC protection equipment which can be worn for quite a long period of time without considerable physical stress even under NBC conditions due to its air and water-vapour permeability. Due to its immediate availability it provides the soldier with permanent individual body protection so that the duration of actions under full NBC protection is no longer limited by the protection equipment itself and its negative effect on the fitness of the personnel for combat is considerably reduced.