SOMA 2025: Optimizing the use of Tactical Medications in the Extreme Cold Operational Environment

Last Updated: November 23, 2025

This presentation explores the challenges and needs of military operations in the Arctic, particularly focusing on cold-weather medicine and the stability of medications in extreme conditions. Emily emphasizes the urgency of improving medic training and resources, the lack of solid data on medication efficacy in cold environments, and the need for innovative solutions to ensure medics can operate effectively. She calls for collaboration and data sharing among partner nations to enhance medical care in extreme cold environments.

Takeaways:

We don’t have a whole lot of military presence above the Arctic Circle. Cold is the enemy; we need to get used to it. The greatest need is initial care at the point of injury. We need to improve the ability of our medics to operate efficiently in cold environments. Most medication stability data is from controlled environments, not extreme conditions. We need to test medications in field environments to understand their stability. Base layer transport is a promising method for carrying medications in cold weather. We need actual inventions that work for medics in the field. Siloing up information is not the answer; we need collaboration. Identifying high-priority medications is crucial for effective cold-weather operations.