MIL-HDBK-783(EA)
ment, and collective protection systems. By 1980, the
The Congressional appropriation for chemical warfare
Department of Defense had initiated a modernization
research jumped from two million dollars in 1940 to more
program to reduce the gaps in chemical warfare defensive
than sixty million dollars in 1941. This increased level of
and retaliatory capabilities of the U.S.
spending lead to an expansion of facilities at Edgewood
Currently the major defensive areas for chemical
Arsenal and other facilities around the country. During
World War II work was conducted in gas mask
warfare established by the services are
1. Detection, warning, and identification
technology, collective protection, protective clothing,
2. Individual protective equipment
protective ointments, and medical kits. This work was
3. Collective protection
conducted in response to the German discovery of the
4. Contamination control (contamination avoidance
G-series nerve agents in the late 1930s. As was the case at
and decontamination).
the end of World War I, research in chemical warfare
The CB defense program of the US Army currently
slowed at the end of World War 11. During the 1950s
involves the development of systems in the four defense
military research programs in chemical warfare em-
areas that will enable the soldier to fight effectively in a
phasized the development of offensive systems; this
CB environment. Fig. 1-1 illustrates the intricate interrela-
emphasis resulted in the development of the V-series
tionships among the four CB defense areas. Overlapping
agent VX in 1958.
areas in the Venn diagram represent the integration of the
In the late 1960s and early 1970s the US chemical
four key countermeasure technologies. For example, the
warfare capabilities went into a forced decline. By the
overlapping of individual protection and contamination
mid- 1970s an effort to disband the Army Chemical Corps
control results in solutions to problems of personnel
had been attempted and was almost successful, and the
decontamination. The overlapping of collective protection
ability of US forces to conduct operations in a CB-
and monitoring systems results in the development of
contaminated environment decreased dramatically. The
warning and detection capabilities inside shelters.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, commenting on the
With the establishment of AR 70-71 in 1984, the US
CB preparedness of the U. S., declared that US forces
Army declared that CB survivability of weapon systems
were not prepared to operate in a CB environment (Ref.
must be addressed. This regulation has broadened research
5).
After several analyses of captured Soviet equipment in
activities from the four key defense areas previously
described to areas including CB agent and' or de-
the 1973 Middle East war, the U.S. discovered large gaps
contaminant interactions with materials of construction
in its chemical warfare defense posture (Ref. 5). Improve-
and design of systems for survivability in a CB agent
ment programs slowly began in the Army in the late 1970s
environment.
that resulted in the development of manual chemical
agent detection kits, portable decontamination equip-
1-4
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