U.S. troops preparing for threat of chemical warfare
By Kris Osborn
CNN Headline News
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U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Jason Darling, right, checks his gas mask with the help of Sgt. Kirtan Stoute, January 31 at the Leighton Barracks in Wuerzburg, Germany.
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(CNN) -- If and when war with Iraq commences, one of the most pressing issues facing American forces on the battlefield will be whether Iraq uses chemical weapons.
Iraq denies having them or any other weapon of mass destruction. But in his presentation to the U.N. Security Council, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said that not only has Iraq used chemical weapons in the past, it would not hesitate to use them again. And President Bush says Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has authorized their use.
So the military is preparing for that possibility. A U.S. Army source said, "We have a highly trained, high-tech unit which specializes in detecting chemical weapons."
Army specialists talk about NBC (nuclear, biological and chemical) reconnaissance units, which go out ahead of troops in any combat zone.
A feature of the U.S. Army's defense against chemical and biological attacks is the Fox reconnaissance vehicle, a high-tech armored vehicle with the ability to recognize immediately the presence of chemical agents.
"The Fox reconnaissance vehicle has been tested with live agents. Also, we receive AIT [advanced individual training]; we go into a chamber with live nerve agents," an Army source said.
Testing with live agents, Army sources say, strengthens a combat unit's confidence that its members could continue to operate in the event of attack. "If your mask were to leak, you would die," the Army source said.
Early detection is a key to minimizing any possible casualties, said a member of a U.S. Army chemical unit. Another key is preparedness.
Soldiers in the field practice changing their biohazard suits quickly in order to reduce risk of exposure. The Army source said, "If you get a persistent liquid agent, it will take like 30 minutes to an hour before you have to change your suit. If troops are exposed to a persistent nerve agent, it could go through the suit eventually."
Army sources explain fit and familiarity with the gas mask are key to safety in any combat situation. An Army source said, "When it comes to your mask, if you have been exposed, you want to change out your canister every 30 minutes [the canister is the opening through which you breathe while wearing a gas mask]. Most of the chemical agents are liquid, meaning they are dispersed in aerosol liquid form."
When it comes to a potential invasion of Iraq, one Army chemical warfare specialist said, "What we are most concerned about is the potential use of a small plane to disperse chemical agents. Right now we're trying to find out where they are hiding them; the military is concerned about stumbling across them in the event of a U.S. attack in the desert."
Army sources say that, compared to the 1991 Gulf War, the U.S. level of chemical and biological defense readiness is high.
