Risk Management Magazine

Never have I experienced anything as frightening as being a heat casualty. I will always remember the way my body felt and the emotions that were running through my mind when I succumbed to heat exhaustion and dehydration.

It was February in Iraq, and we were returning from our final mission of the day. As we crossed the wire, we crew chiefs and gunners removed the ammo belts from our 240H machine guns and then let the weapons fall forward, muzzle down, prior to landing.

To understand the basic dynamics of a thunderstorm, just remember M-I-L. Moisture. Instability. Lift. Start with some moisture, add a pinch of instability and a dash of lift. That’s the basic recipe for a thunderstorm. Throw in a sea breeze, an outflow boundary, merging cells or other interaction, and a run-of-the-mill air-mass thunderstorm can quickly turn into something far more dangerous.