NCJ Number
190870
Date Published
2001
Length
88 pages
Annotation
This document provides highlights of the major efforts undertaken by the Chemical and Biological Defense Program in fiscal year 2000 and goals for fiscal year 2001 and beyond.
Abstract
The mission of the Chemical and Biological Defense Program (CBDP) is to provide world-class chemical and biological defense capabilities to allow military forces to survive and successfully complete their operational missions in battlespace environments contaminated with chemical or biological (CB) warfare agents. Since Operation Desert Storm, the CBDP effectively developed and fielded new or improved capabilities that addressed shortfalls identified during the war, such as fielding the Biological Integrated Detection System and procurement of new, lightweight chemical protective suits for the entire force. Advances in research promise to yield continuous capability improvements over the next decade, including countermeasures against chemical and biological agents and improved decontamination capabilities. Contamination avoidance systems include the Automatic Chemical Agent Detector and Alarm which identifies standard blister and nerve agents, and the Biological Integrated Detection System which is mounted on a dedicated heavy multipurpose-wheeled vehicle. Protection systems include the Chemically Protected Deployable Medical System which allows field combat support hospitals to sustain medical operations in a CB environment. Medical systems include the Joint Biological Agent Identification and Diagnosis System which identifies and quantifies biological organisms and pathogens of other significance. Decontamination systems include the Joint Service Fixed Site Decontamination which can remove or neutralize toxic materials posing threats to military operations. CBDP's scientific accomplishments during the period included developing cytotoxicity methods to enhance toxicological screening of CB materials. The document also provided the CB defense hierarchical structure for the different branches of the military and funding distribution. Glossary