{"id":39644,"date":"2018-05-17T14:30:04","date_gmt":"2018-05-17T14:30:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2018\/05\/17\/heres-how-house-lawmakers-plan-to-fix-the-us-militarys-hypoxia-problem\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:02:35","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:02:35","slug":"heres-how-house-lawmakers-plan-to-fix-the-us-militarys-hypoxia-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2018\/05\/17\/heres-how-house-lawmakers-plan-to-fix-the-us-militarys-hypoxia-problem\/","title":{"rendered":"Here\u2019s how House lawmakers plan to fix the US military\u2019s hypoxia problem"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 The U.S. Navy and Air Force still don\u2019t know what is causing an influx of physiological episodes impacting pilots<\/a> of tactical aircraft like the F-35<\/a> and F\/A-18 Hornet, but House lawmakers are dealing with it in a characteristically congressional fashion: by ordering studies and throwing money at the problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the past two years, pilots have reported a growing number of physiological episodes<\/a>, or PE for short, in planes such as the Air Force\u2019s F-35A and T-6 trainer<\/a>, as well as the Navy\u2019s F\/A-18 Hornet and the T-45 training jet<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The symptoms \u2014 shortness of breath and disorientation \u2014 are similar throughout the cases but could actually be signs of different conditions including hypoxia, also known as oxygen deficiency; or hypocapnia and hypercapnia, which is when carbon dioxide levels in the blood reach abnormally low and high levels, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On May 10, the House Armed Services Committee put forward its version of the fiscal 2019 defense policy bill, which includes additional funding and language to help fix the PE problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But finding a solution has proven to be a difficult endeavor. <\/p>\n\n\n\t