text: Army Health System Operations
  Table 4-1. Medical aspects of the operational variables (continued)
  Variable Subvariables Medical aspects
  Physical • Terrain complexity. Topography and hydrology considerations
  environment include:
  • Mobility classification.
  (continued) • Character and types of injuries to be
  Natural hazards. encountered.
  Climate. • Natural barriers to medical evacuation.
  Weather. • Lines of patient drift.
  • Suitable for farming and for grazing
  • *Precipitation.
  animals.
  • *High temperature—heat Natural resources to include the availability of
  index. medicinal herbs.
  • *Low temperature—chill index. Presence of toxic plants and animals and
  whether they pose a health hazard to deployed
  • *Wind.
  troops.
  • *Visibility.
  • *Cloud cover.
  • *Relative humidity.
  Time Cultural perception of time. Time affects not only the provision of medical
  care, but also may affect the types of diseases
  Information offset.
  and injuries which may occur. Short duration
  Tactical exploitation of time.
  operations require emphasis on rapidly treating
  Key dates, time periods, or events. Soldiers with traumatic injuries, while longer
  duration operations require emphasis on disease
  prevention and the management of chronic
  medical conditions.
  NOTE: Subvariables marked with an asterisk (*) are also the military aspects of terrain and weather used in
  analyzing mission, enemy, terrain and weather, troops and support available, time available, and civil considerations.
  MISSION VARIABLES
  4-7. Mission variables are used by AHS planners to determine the impact they will have on medical
  operations. Mission variables describe characteristics of the operational area, focusing on how they might
  affect a mission. The mission variables are discussed below. In Table 4-1 above, the subvariables which are
  the same as mission variable considerations are marked with an asterisk (*). For an in-depth discussion of
  the mission variables, refer to ADP 5-0.
  MISSION
  4-8. The mission refers to the overall mission of the operational commander, as well as the specific mission
  of the supporting AHS unit. In order to develop a flexible and responsive support plan, the AHS planner
  must have a clear understanding of the operational mission, the purpose of that mission, and the tasks/actions
  to be performed and the rationale for accomplishing those actions. The AHS planner must be able to forecast
  where AHS support assets should be positioned to best support the CCDRs plan and also anticipate if
  augmentation of medical resources will be required and preplan, coordinate, and synchronize the employment
  of this augmentation support should the need arise.
  ENEMY
  4-9. The second variable the AHS planner must consider is the enemy. The elements of dispositions
  (including organization, strength, location, and operational mobility), doctrine, equipment, capabilities,
  vulnerabilities, and probable courses of action are considered by the operational planners and the important
  factors are normally reflected in the OPORD. The AHS planner must also analyze the potential impacts on
  the provision of AHS support to our forces. The enemy weapons systems will indicate the types of wounds
  which U.S. forces may experience (conventional weapons, blast, CBRN, or improvised weapons [such as
  punji sticks used in Vietnam that resulted in countless numbers of infected wounds and improvised explosive
  devices used in Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Enduring Freedom]) and give an indication on the