We’re Investigating Heat Deaths and Illnesses in the Military. Tell Us Your Story.

InsideClimate News and NBC News spent the past nine months probing the threat that rising heat poses to U.S. military personnel and, by extension, the nation’s national security. 

We found a series of preventable heat deaths and a surge in cases of heat illnesses. Overall, we discovered an uneven response to a growing problem as the military wrestles with how to train in increasingly sweltering conditions. (Here is a map showing the bases with the most heat injuries.)

The response to our investigation so far has been overwhelming, particularly in its detailed description of tragic losses during training exercises — an 18-year-old cadet in his first week at West Point, an Iraq combat veteran and father of five, a young lieutenant on his first day training to become an Army Ranger. 

We want to tell your stories, too. Have you or people close to you suffered heat illnesses while serving in the military? Was their health impacted long term? Was their military career affected? Can you help provide a more complete picture of the military’s heat problem?

To share your experience with heat illness, fill out the form below.

We take your privacy seriously and will not publish your name or any information you share without your permission. If you prefer to get in touch with us confidentially via email, please contact ICN reporter David Hasemyer at david.hasemyer@insideclimatenews.org, or write to him at 16 Court Street, Suite 2307, Brooklyn, NY 11241