Updated 03-07-2003

From The Field

Editor's Note: The following soldiers and airmen have responded to a request from DefenseWatch and sftt.us for information on the adequacy of NBC defenses and training in individual units. As other personnel report in we will publish their reports also.

Crippled Research Led to Flawed NBC Gear

I am writing to respond after hearing Col. David Hackworth on the Sean Hannity program talking about how ill-equipped our troops are for a chemical or biological attack should Saddam Hussein unleash his weapons of mass destruction. I was very intrigued with what he was talking about, and as a person who has worked in the chemical/biological warfare field, I would like to comment on some of the things I know about these most hideous weapons.

I am a Navy veteran, but during my civilian career, I worked for the U.S. Army in several job capacities. My first job was as a Chemical Test Proof Operator at Dugway Proving Grounds, Utah, working with chemical and biological warfare agents. I worked for Dugway Proving Grounds, and the Tooele Army Depot in this capacity for almost 20 years, so I think I know a little bit about chemical/biological warfare agents, protective clothing, decons, testing apparatuses, etc.

Hackworth is absolutely right in what he said about the protection and clothing our troops would have to wear in Iraq if they were to encounter chemical weapons. During my tenure with Dugway Proving Grounds over a 10-years period, I was involved in many aspects of testing chemical and biological weapons, as well as the devices needed to protect the troops.

After the infamous "sheep incident" of 1968, when more than 6,000 sheep died from VX poisoning, the Army Chemical Command literally was forced to shut down open-air testing of chemical/biological warfare agents. Congress forbade any future testing of this kind, and it quite literally left the armed forces without any means to defend our soldiers or our civilian populace.

For almost 20 years, the chemical/biological field was forced to do things in a "controlled" environment, and consequently, there was a mixed bag of data with no clear consensus to determine what could be used to protect our troops, and how they could be minimized from future exposures in a combat environment.

For example, the M3 butyl rubber suit that we used was bulky, uncomfortable, non-porous, and difficult to get into. The protective hood that wrapped around the M9 gas mask was also uncomfortable, and becomes extremely hot in the desert. During my tenure at Dugway Proving Grounds, many of my civilian coworkers spent many hours in these suits, working both inside and outside. Many times during, and after deconning, we would literally be pouring sweat out of our boots. We could only stay in these suits for about 15 or 20 minutes on a hot Utah summer day when we were working. By the same token, if the weather was cold, you would be miserable, because your sweat accumulating in the suit would chill, and the cold air would leave you freezing in your own sweat.

The only way we could use the M3 suit effectively in our work, especially during the summer, was to have a decontamination truck available to hose us down with cold water. This would reduce our body heat temporarily so that we could return to our work, but eventually we would have to either return for more dowsings, or get out of the suits entirely in a decontaminated area.

By the same token, the M9 or M16 gas mask with the M3 hood was like an inferno. On a hot day, your head and face would be sweating profusely, causing the sweat to drip into your eyes, which in turn would burn from the salt. You couldn't adjust your mask, or relieve the pressure because of the chemical environment you were in.

Additionally, when it came to changing the charcoal canister on the M9, you had to untie the rubber hood strings, pull the rubber away from the canister, hold your breath, twist the canister off, and hopefully install a new canister before you ran out of breath.

The M16 gas mask was even worse, because you had to completely remove the mask from the hood, remove the filters from the inside of the mask, install new filters, and all this while you were in a hostile surrounding. Not the best way to fight a war in a chemical environment.

I think it is a shame our chemical/biological posture for defending our troops has been tragically misguided, underfunded, and relegated to unimportance by the past administration.

Now that the realization of chemical/biological weapons can and will be used against our troops, it's even more important than ever that we invest our resources and talents into combating this insidious kind of warfare. I have seen what it can do from first-hand experience, and I'm here to tell you it is not a pleasant way to die. This makes it even more important that we stop Saddam even before he has the first opportunity to launch such a hideous offensive weapon.

--Delbert Mitchell, CPO USN (Ret)

Use Wind Machines for Local Protection

I know this might seem a bit weird, but sometimes weird works pretty well.

On the subject of NBC defenses, I work in the motion picture business as a stunt man and we use machines called "Ritters" to generate wind on the sets. They are basically an airplane propellor mounted to an electrical or, better yet, an automobile engine. These little puppies put out enough wind to blow a full-grown man off his feet. They can be mounted on flat bed trucks as small as a normal pick-up. Picture an airboat and you have the idea.

Since NBC agents rely on an air-delivery system, having some control over the wind in a local area would be a great benefit on the battlefield if for no other reason than diluting the agents with huge blasts of fresh air pointed away from our troops.

--Rick Baker

Continuous NBC Training Is Essential

I find many of the responses published by sftt.us to NBC readiness in the Army disturbing. As an officer with an activated CSS unit I can verify that over the past six years my unit has trained on NBC tasks to extent that the soldiers complain about the redundancy.

In response to the soldier's mask that separated, proper PMCS would have prevented that occurrence, another Army standard that often gets the "pencil whip." As an O-3 on my 10th month of mobilization I have had my own mask out for training at least a half-dozen times. My own soldiers are becoming complacent with regard to training on NBC tasks. Unfortunately many don't see the urgency for training these critical tasks over and over again.

hile training is a commander's responsibility, E-5s, 6s and 7s need to step up and take some responsibility for the soldiers under their direct control. While I'll be the first to admit the Army is far from a perfect system, I've seen way too much finger pointing going on lately.

The Army acknowledges that fighting in an NBC environment greatly reduces a soldier's abilities. We've learned that marksmanship drops to almost nil, masks fog, communication suffers and in a hot environment heat injuries are significant. Most soldiers shut down within the first hour during FTXs when in MOPP IV. I personally learned that as a left-handed shooter my canister needs to be on the right side of the mask. You cannot over-train on NBC.

The first serious NBC attack the Army suffers will likely be a grave lesson in war. I have confidence in the M-40 mask and other protective gear. What I do have doubts about is sustained operations in a heavily contaminated environment and the after effects. Where my soldiers do lack in training is eating/drinking in MOPP IV, driving their equipment in MOPP IV, and decontamination processes. I would like to see the Army come up with a better way to determine an all-clear. I hope I never have to select the soldier for that task.

If I may make one more point: I'm appalled at the rifts that exist between combat units and CSS units as well as the discrimination between active and reserve. This is not an Army of one, it's an Army of many and you cannot remove any one of those components and still have a functioning Army. Senior officers need to work toward closing these gaps or current events are eventually going to drive all the competent soldiers away and leave this country with an Army of truly questionable abilities.

--- Greg Barr

A Marine's Father Waits and Worries

My son is a Marine 2nd lieutenant who has been in Kuwait since Feb. 14, 2003.

When his mother and I packed him for deployment, we saw his bio/chem suit, which had a packing label of "09/91." It is a 12-year-old suit, hardly state of the art and likely would fail on opening because of long storage.

As of several days ago, this was still the only NBC gear he has, in spite of repeated assertions from the DoD and the Pentagon that all troops have received 3 or 4 of the new JSLIST suits. Either his command is dissembling or someone is lying.

As for training, my son says he has just received the usual annual NBC refresher training - nothing special. He has been issued an ampoule for self-use as a nerve agent antidote.

The CBS "60 Minutes" interview with the DoD official about NBC readiness was an exercise in spin control and was distasteful in the extreme because of her lying.

--Concerned Father

With Rotting Masks, We Go to War

I have been reading on sftt.us about the many doubts relating to our current NBC protective gear, and it reminded me of an incident that happened 12 years ago. My unit had not been in Saudi Arabia long. We were staying in a place we called Cement City.

At some point during our stay, the Scud alarm sounded. Now you have to keep in mind the level of fear the system had instilled in us. We truly believed that Scuds were going to blow nerve agent all over us. So, being the well-trained soldiers that we were, we closed our eyes, stopped breathing, and put on our M17 protective masks. After I got mine on I looked around to make sure that everyone else was doing the same and that's when I noticed my good friend holding his mask in one hand and the head harness (which holds the thing securely to your head), in the other.

My initial response was, “You idiot, you didn't reattach your head harness after you cleaned your mask.” But no, upon closer examination I saw that the harness had actually dry rotted and completely ripped to shreds when he tried to pull it over his head. I tried to get guidance from senior NCOs and the best they could come up with was to have him put on the rest of his MOPP suit and hold the mask to his face with his hands.

I realize now that all of the drama that night was futile. I assure you that at the time my stomach was in a knot. I couldn't believe what was happening. Yea sure, we all checked our masks a little more closely after that, but if the nerve agent had come down that night my friend would have been the first to go. I have no doubt, now, that the rest of us would have probably followed him not long after.

I don't think most of us have a lot of faith in our NBC protective equipment, but it's kind of hard for active-duty soldiers to admit or talk about. We're going to have to use that stuff one way or the other. It's all we have and to tell yourself that it's useless is not going to help you mentally prepare for the task at hand.

It's like the first models of the M-16 rifle in Vietnam that frequently jammed. You’re going use it cause it's all you have.

--Drill Sgt. Burgess

Twenty Years and No NBC Gear

I agree with Col. David Hackworth that we are not prepared for operating in a contaminated battlefield. I retired from the U.S. Air Force in 1982 after 20 years. During my entire career, I was never issued protective gear or hands-on trained in its use. Twice in 20 years I was trained with the gas mask and gas chamber.

While stationed in Germany, where we were the cannon fodder/delaying troops in case of the Red Army attack, I was part of the Wing IG disaster preparedness team. We set up simulated disasters and graded response. At no time were the troops ever required to show any expertise in donning the NBC gear.

In fact, we were advised that the gear was too expensive and in short supply so none was available for training purposes. In case of an emergency, the gear would be issued to us.

Despite the Pentagon’s assurances that all discrepancies and shortages have been remedied and our troops are ready and protected, I still have a small amount of doubt (of course the government has never lied to us). To this day, I still do not know of anyone in the military capable of donning the NBC gear in under 10 minutes correctly even if they have it readily available to them.

--Ken Harkin, Master Sgt. USAF (Ret.)

NBC Defense Limited to Evacuating Area

I couldn't agree more with Col. David Hackworth about the fallacy of the current NBC doctrine in the Army. I did my active duty time in the Navy, and NBC defenses were designed to keep us alive while we exited the area as quickly as possible.

It was not possible to operate “effectively”with the ship buttoned up. I just went through my NBC training for mobilization and was surprised by how things have changed. My Combat Lifesaver course was even more of a surprise: I can't imagine giving a soldier 5 Atropines, 2 D-Pam, and 3 CANA and expecting him to live.

Add in the information on the life cycle of the MOPP suit, and it seems pretty unlikely that we will be able to operate in a chemical environment.
--Bill Carney

No NBC Gear for Reservists

I am detailed to a military facility in Virginia, where I run the TOC. It is a very good job, and I have more responsibility here than if I were downrange with my battalion. The downrange troops tell me to stay where I am.

The active component troops have gas masks and equipment and train monthly, however, the reserve troops, who out-number the active duty troops, do not have masks and are not authorized masks. I called my unit’s rear headquarters and was told there are no masks for me.

What happened to the mask that I was authorized when I joined the unit? What happened to all my gear that I signed for when I joined the unit? So why do RC troops not rate masks stateside?

--Jim H.

Impossible to Function in Chemical Suits

I would like to invite all of the high-tech types out there to instruct this poor dumb country boy as to what type of chemical suit we would need that would provide all of the required protection (completely sealed and controllable inside environment) for our troops, and at the same time allow them to operate at 100 percent – or at least 50 percent – of their non-suited capacity. With all of this talk about “effective/functional” chemical suits on the battlefield, I have yet to hear anyone provide a proposed solution.

You can’t function at 100 percent when wearing just an old-fashioned gas mask, let alone a bulletproof/tear-proof/full body-condom with an on-board environmental and waste-disposal system.

Short of waiting for the world’s population to decide to stop killing each other and forcing their will on others, I am not sure there is an answer to this problem. Unfortunately, we don’t seem to be any closer to that utopia than we were when Cain decided to play the first game of baseball with his brother’s head.

--Rick Barker

Medical Personnel Satisfied with Training

Unlike the respondents noted in initial reports from the field, I feel like I have been well-trained in the event of an NBC attack, though I am not an expert. I am a reserve Navy Corpsman serving with the Fleet Marine Force and am told I will be activated soon.

We have always carried gas masks on our field exercises. We have had aggressors shoot M79 CS canisters at us while on patrol to get us used to donning masks in a hurry. We have been through the field CS chamber several times. We have been thoroughly briefed by graduates of the NBC instructors’ school about the types of Chem/Bio agents and their affects.

We received the new suits in November and drilled with them in the field. One evolution included performing wind-sprints to get our heart rate up and then donning full MOPP gear, getting into the prone position and firing two magazines from an M-16. I think we were allotted something like two minutes to don the mask and suit and fire the two magazines.

I don't know if this adds up to thorough training, but I feel confident in our gear and training. I am, however, concerned about the possible contamination of field water bulls as mentioned in Bart Bacon’s article at sftt.us (“A Deadly Flaw in NBC Defenses”).

--“Doc” Lloyd

California Guard Mobilization a ‘Fiasco’

I just have to share with SFTT the near-fiasco of transferring night-vision, GPS and NBC equipment from two enhanced brigade subordinate battalions to deploying CSS units. These units in California have been mobilized for deployment and they do not have NVGs, GPS’s, and NBC equipment. Nor did they have enough personnel.

So California directed currently non-deploying combat units to produce “volunteers” for these units and then at the last minute tried to direct lateral transfer of equipment to these units. The trouble is, California has two enhanced battalions (one infantry, one armor) with all the latest equipment – but these units’ parent brigades are in other states (Hawaii and Washington).

It took the intervention of the one-star brigade commanders in the other states to stop the transfer of equipment. What I want to know is how is it that these transportation, quartermaster and military police units are being mobilized and they do not even have enough personnel and equipment? At the same time, why is it that combat units that have the MOS-qualified personnel and the latest equipment are in a holding pattern? The CSS units are supposedly high-priority units stood up as part of the Army Division Redesign and as a result of the Guard-Reserve-Active Off-Site Agreement. Evidently, the money never materialized for these units.

--Dan Markert

No Food for Soldiers in Division Loadout

I am an unusual military spouse, being that I am a male. My wife is an 18-year member of the Army. We are both veterans of the first Gulf War serving in the 3rd Armored Division.

After what I witnessed today, I had to write to someone who has a voice. My wife is a platoon sergeant in a medical company in an MSB in the 101 Airborne Division. She is spending this entire weekend rail-loading vehicles. She and I both know that it is long brutal work, and that is not the complaint. She and her fellow soldiers are locked down and cannot go anywhere until the mission is completed. Again, we both understand that.

Here is what gives me pause. I just returned from going to the commissary and purchasing enough food, out of my own pocket, to feed 22 soldiers. They are not organized enough to provide meals for their soldiers here. How in God's name are they going to take care of them when they are in the field?

My wife just called me and told me that she is still struggling to get her soldiers fed. I asked her if the officers or senior leaders where anywhere around, and of course they are nowhere to be found. I have a bad feeling about this whole mess.

--Paul Compton

Training Was Minimal in First Gulf War

While I have been out of the Army since 1997, my memories of NBC training and proficiency remain very clear. I served in northern Saudi Arabia at King Khalid Military City in 1991, and NBC training was practically non-existent even then. This did little but encourage rumors of inadequate equipment (masks, MOPP gear and atropine injectors) and survivability from an NBC attack.

Every soldier deserves facts and repeated, consistent training to maintain combat effectiveness – not to mention morale. Other than superior equipment, leadership and realistic training, every soldier needs real information to survive and fight in an NBC environment. That means from infantry to supply. Our soldiers deserve it.

I hope today's commanders and NBC officers and NCOs are dealing in facts and training.

--Michael Hopkins, Staff Sgt. USAR

Reserves Untrained in NBC Defense

I am a U.S. Army Reservist recently called up to active duty and am assigned at Fort Dix, N.J., where there has been a steady stream of "broke dick" reserve units arriving. Many mobilized units are showing up at 50 percent strength or less. We had one unit show up at 35 percent of its authorized strength. From what people say, they are suffering "no shows" after activation, pregnancies, alleged pregnancies and many transfers to the IRR before activation (where no "stop loss" was imposed like the Marines have in place). We are having to activate individuals in the reserve and National Guard system to cross level, or strip units not yet activated. Then we have to get them up to speed: Many have not shot a rifle in years, and have not trained in NBC either.

But here is a critical point: The NBC MOPP suits are not designed to fight in. They are designed for soldiers to put on if chemical or biological agents are used, and then get out of the contaminated area, where they are taken off and disposed of. MOPP Gear is for survival only - for protection - not for fighting.

If a sophisticated enemy wants to screw up the U.S. Army in the attack, all it will have to do is unleash chemical agents into the support troops. These troops have little training in NBC. The Army will claim differently, but the fact is there has been very little training. And without food, fuel and ammo, the offensive will stall.

If Iraq were to use chemicals, they could use a non-lethal vomiting agent first, to keep troops from even being able to put their masks on, then use a mustard or phosgene gas. This is not very sophisticated, but it will kill just as it did in World War I.

I think this is why the recent news reports have indicated President Bush will use nukes against Iraq if this happens. The Army, especially the reserve component, is not as well-trained anymore as people are led to believe it is. These kids showing up at Fort Dix have a long way to go and a short time to get there.

--Concerned Reservist

To War in Old MOPP Gear

During my Air National Guard unit's January Unit Training Assembly, I had the opportunity to try on one of the new NBC suits. It is lighter and more comfortable than its predecessor.

However, when I asked the DP instructor when I could expect to swap out my old one he replied, "You should be getting the new ones in about a year or so." Should I deploy to the sandbox, I will deploy with the same type of chemical suit that I have been training in since 1994.

I know that priority for this equipment should go to those Army and Marine troops at the tip of the spear. However, in my career field (Security Forces) we have been constantly deploying rotations overseas following 9/11.

Our troops securing the airfields in those forward areas are equipped with the old-style chem suits that I described. Based on my training experiences with this type of suit, I know that sustained operations in the 130-plus degree heat of those forward areas will be difficult at best. Since the age and condition of the suits is a factor in their effectiveness, I expect that should the heat not kill me, the ineffectiveness of the suit certainly would.

--Concerned Guardsman

NBC Training Is Being Ignored

I wanted to put my two cents in on this issue of not being fully trained or competent in an area of our jobs, including NBC Defense.

I am in a Cavalry unit out of Fort Carson, Colo., and I agree with everything that I have been reading about the soldiers not being fully trained. I am a 63B (Light Wheel Mechanic) and on Thursdays, we are supposed to conduct Sergeant's Time training. Well, of course, the mechanics don't do it because we are to busy working on the vehicles.

I have stressed this issue to my squad leader and there is little that he was able to do because of the brass. Most of the guys I work with and myself included have received little training in NBC or CTT training since basic training. Most of the soldiers I know can't even put their masks on within the required nine seconds! It frankly worries me considering that we might be deploying soon.

It seems that most of these new soldiers are in the Army for all the wrong reasons, college money being the biggest. I have no problem with people wanting to better themselves but these men and women who come in to go to school have a very little sense of patriotic duty.

We as soldiers need to train constantly. We are to be called up at a second's notice but I believe that we are not ready. Half of our tanks couldn't hit the broad side of a barn and half the troops couldn't either! It is sad to say but every year that goes by the Army continues to deteriorate, and one day it may not be able to defend this country properly.

--Fort Carson Soldier

Chemical Suits Won't Last Long in Battle

I spent the tail-end of my Marine Corps enlistment in Vietnam (1967-1968), trying to learn about myself, putting to use my invaluable training that has lasted me my entire adult life, and hopefully for years to come. I then retired from the WIARNG as a Master Sergeant (E-8), following another 17 1/2 years. I wouldn't change my military experience for all the tea in China.

The reason that I am writing is that through the course of my military education, I came to learn that the so-called "chemical suits" are only good for about six hours after initial exposure. After that, they must be changed with a fresh suit and the used one discarded.

These soldiers headed for Iraq will in all probability, be issued a second chemical suit. But what happens after the second suit is "consumed"? In a chemical battlefield environment, there most likely won't be any place for soldiers in the field to have a safe place to even change into the fresh chemical suit, and I know what will happen to them then!

I fear that some U.S. servicemen and women are going to be "sacrificed" in a chemical and or biological environment in Iraq. I know that they will be buried in place and then the outraged "American machine" will respond with a nuclear device, effectively wiping Iraq right off the face of the earth. I have no qualms about decimating Iraq back to the Stone Age, but my heart cries for the families of the soldiers who will be maimed and KIA.

--Roland R. Larson