Mary Roach: Grunt

Outside the military, I made a pest of myself, most notably, with David Armstrong, Charlie Beadling, Greg Belenky, John Bolte, Robert Cantrell, Joe Conlon, Damon Cooney, Pam Dalton, Jeff Dyche, Jerry Hogsette, Andrew Karam, Malcolm Kelley, Darren Malinoski, Chris Maute, Ekaterina Pesheva, Bruce Siddle, Terry Sunday, and Ronn Wade. I am grateful for the patience and unflagging good humor accorded to me by all.

The stereotype of the military spokesperson—the obfuscating spin-doctor who prefers to pass the buck—was nowhere in evidence during the writing of this book. The public affairs people I contacted were accommodating and no-bull. A few stand out for the extreme diligence and tolerance they applied to my off-the-grid inquiries: David Accetta at US Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center; Seamus Nelson at US Navy Camp Lemonnier; Dora Lockwood at the Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery; Doris Ryan of the Naval Medical Research Center; Paul Stone at the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System; Joyce Conant at US Army Research Laboratory; Joe Ferrare at US Army Research, Development and Engineering Command; and Jenn Elzea and Sue Gough at the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

Vast troves of military images and archival material are available to those who know where and how to look. I knew neither. I am beholden to Andre Sobocinski, able historian at the US Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, for helping me navigate the National Archives and Records Administration and cheerfully photocopying entire folders for me. Likewise, I owe an outsized debt of thanks to Stephanie Romeo for chasing down the images that open each chapter. Her generous nature and zeal for the task led her to spend far more time than she had any good reason to spend.

Yet again, I have benefited from the unerring instincts of some extraordinary people in the publishing world. I am so very lucky to have Jill Bialosky as an editor and friend. Erin Lovett and Louise Brockett, Bill Rusin, Jeannie Luciano, Drake McFeely, Ingsu Liu, Steve Colca, Laura Goldin, and Maria Rogers at W. W. Norton make my job a joy and my books the best they can be. Jay Mandel’s support is the bass line that runs through my career, and Janet Byrne is the best copy editor imaginable.

No matter how well things fall into place and how smoothly the writing goes, a book will send you to the couch in occasional fits of doubt and self-pity. Everlasting love and gratitude to my husband, Ed Rachles, the man who gets me off the couch.

BY WAY OF INTRODUCTION

Beason, Robert C. “What Can Birds Hear?” USDA National Wildlife Research Center—Staff Publications, Paper 78, 2004.

Lethbridge, David. “‘The Blood Fights on in Other Veins’: Norman Bethune and the Transfusion of Cadaver Blood in the Spanish Civil War.” Canadian Bulletin of Medical History 29, no. 1 (2012): 69–81.

Speelman, R. J. III, M. E. Kelley, R. E. McCarty, and J. J. Short. “Aircraft Birdstrikes: Preventing and Tolerating.” IBSC-24/WP31. Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH: Air Force Research Laboratory, 1998.

1. SECOND SKIN

“DOD Should Improve Development of Camouflage Uniforms and Enhance Collaboration Among the Services.” Report to Congressional Requesters. Washington, DC: US Government Accountability Office, 2012.

Oesterling, Fred. “Thermal Radiation Protection Afforded Test Animals by Fabric Ensembles.” Operation Upshot-Knothole Project 8.5: Report to the Test Director. WT-770. Quartermaster Research and Development Laboratories, 1955.

Phalen, James M. “An Experiment with Orange-Red Underwear.” Philippine Journal of Science 5, no. 6 (1910): 525–46.

White, Bob. “How Your Meat Helps Your Men.” Breeder’s Gazette, July–August 1943, 20–21.

2. BOOM BOX

Balazs, George C., et al. “High Seas to High Explosives: The Evolution of Calcaneus Fracture Management in the Military.” Military Medicine 179, no. 11 (2014): 1228–35.

Warrior Injury Assessment Manikin (WIAMan) Project Boot Fitting Procedures, version 1.2. Warrior Injury Assessment Project Management Office: November 10, 2015. Distribution Statement, W0060.

3. FIGHTING BY EAR

Berger, Elliott H. “History and Development of the E-A-R Foam Earplug.” Canadian Hearing Report 5, no. 1 (2010): 28–34.

Bradley, J. Peter. “An Exploratory Study on Sniper Well-Being.” Defence R&D Canada–Toronto, Contractors Report. DRDC Toronto CR 2009-196. 2010.

McIlwain, D. Scott, Kathy Gates, and Donald Ciliax. “Heritage of Army Audiology and the Road Ahead: The Army Hearing Program.” American Journal of Public Health 98, no. 12 (2008): 2167–72.

Sheffield, Benjamin, et al. “The Relationship Between Hearing Acuity and Operational Performance in Dismounted Combat.” Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting 59, no. 1 (2015): 1346–50.

4. BELOW THE BELT

Dismounted Complex Injury Task Force. “Report of the Army: Dismounted Complex Blast Injury.” June 18, 2011.

Ellis, Kathryn, and Caitlin Dennison. Sex and Intimacy for Wounded Veterans: A Guide to Embracing Change . The Sager Group, 2014.

5. IT COULD GET WEIRD

Dubernard, Jean-Michel. “Penile Transplantation?” European Urology 50 (2006): 664–65.

Hu, Weilie, et al. “A Preliminary Report of Penile Transplantation: Part 2.” European Urology 50 (2006): 1115–16.

Reed, C. S. “The Codpiece: Social Fashion or Medical Need?” Internal Medicine Journal 34 (2004): 684–86.

6. CARNAGE UNDER FIRE

Arora, Sonal, et al. “The Impact of Stress on Surgical Performance: A Systematic Review of the Literature.” Surgery 147, no. 3 (2009): 318–30.

Landis, Carney, William A. Hunt, and Hans Strauss. The Startle Pattern. New York: Farrar & Rinehart, Inc., 1939.

Love, Ricardo M. Psychological Resilience: Preparing Our Soldiers for War. Carlisle Barracks, PA: US Army War College, 2011.

Webb, Brandon. “A Kit Up Inside Look at ‘Goat Lab.’” February 21, 2012. http://kitup.military.com/2012/02/goat-lab-an-inside-look.html.

7. SWEATING BULLETS

Adolph, E. F. Physiology of Man in the Desert. New York: Interscience Publishers, 1947.

Carter, Robert III, et al. “Epidemiology of Hospitalizations and Deaths from Heat Illness in Soldiers.” Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 37, no. 8 (2005): 1338–44.

Heat Injuries, Active Component, U.S. Armed Forces. Medical Surveillance Monthly Report 19, no. 3 (2011): 14–16.

Kuno, Yas. Human Perspiration. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas, 1956.

Tucker, Patrick. “The Very Real Future of Iron Man Suits in the Navy.” Defense One, January 12, 2015. www.defenseone.com/technology/2015/01/very-real-future-iron-man-suits-navy.102630.

Update: Exertional Rhabdomyolysis, Active Component, US Armed Forces, 2011. Medical Surveillance Monthly Report 19, no. 3 (2012): 17–19.

8. LEAKY SEALS

Barbeito, Manuel S., Charles T. Mathews, and Larry A. Taylor. “Microbiological Laboratory Hazard of Bearded Men.” Technical Manuscript 379. Frederick, MD: Department of the Army, 1967.

Connor, Patrick, et al. “Diarrhoea During Military Deployment: Current Concepts and Future Directions . ” Journal of Infectious Diseases 25, no. 5 (2012): 546–54.

Dandoy, Suzanne. “The Diarrhea of Travelers: Incidence in Foreign Students in the United States.” California Medicine 104, no. 6 (1966): 458–62.