Risk Management Magazine

Austere and high-tempo training environments like the National Training Center (NTC) at Fort Irwin, California, demand absolute vigilance. In these challenging field conditions, even minor oversights can rapidly escalate into life-threatening hazards.

The dust at Fort Hunter Liggett, California, hangs in the air as a fine powder, coating everything and growing finer the higher you climb. The hills do not just roll — they surge upward from the valley floors, carved with winding trails that resemble scars on the landscape. This area feels ancient and unforgiving, where gravity serves as a constant, patient enemy.

As a leader, maintaining unit readiness starts with shielding your Soldiers from the acoustic assault that bombards them every day. Whether from combat weaponry, vehicle stereos or high-powered machinery, this constant exposure does more than just disrupt sleep, produce stress and impair communication — in high enough doses, it causes significant noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL).