U.S " DESERT STORM " CHEMICAL WARFARE BATTLEDRESS

Operation Desert Storm

Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm Timeline

• Iraq invades Kuwait, Aug. 2, 1990.
• Operation Desert Shield begins, Aug. 7.
• First U.S. forces (F-15 Eagle fighters from Langley Air Force Base, Va.) arrive in Saudi Arabia, Aug. 7.
• First Operation Desert Shield-related U.S. death, Aug. 12.
• President George Bush authorizes first call-up of Selected Reservists to active duty for 90 days, by executive order, Aug. 22. (Call-up widened in subsequent authorizations; period of service extended to 180 days on Nov. 12 by executive order.)
• Operation Desert Storm and air war phase begins, 3 a.m., Jan. 17, 1991 (Jan. 16, 7 p.m. Eastern time).
• Iraq attacks Israel with seven Scud missiles, Jan. 17.
• U.S. Patriot missile successfully intercepts first Scud, over Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, Jan. 17.
• President Bush authorizes the call-up of up to 1 million National Guardsmen and Reservist for up to two years, Jan. 18.
• DoD announces deployment of Europe-based Patriot missiles and crews to Israel, Jan. 19.
• Iraq creates massive oil slick in gulf, Jan. 25.
• Iraqis attack Khafji, Saudi Arabia, Jan. 29.
• Iraq captures first U.S. female prisoner of war, Jan. 31.
• Award of the National Defense Service Medal authorized, Feb. 21.
• Iraqis ignite estimate 700 oil wells in Kuwait, Feb. 23.
• Allied ground assault begins, 4 a.m., Feb 24 (Feb. 23, 8 p.m. Eastern time).
• Iraqi Scud destroys U.S. barracks in Dhahran, killing 28 U.S. soldiers, Feb. 25.
• Cessation of hostilities declared, 8:01 a.m., Feb. 28 (12:01 a.m. Eastern).
• Cease-fire terms negotiated in Safwan, Iraq, March 1.
• DoD announces first troop redeployment home, March l7 (24th Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.)
• Award of the Southwest Asia Service medal authorized, March 13.
• President Bush announces U.S. relief supply airdrops to Kurdish refugees in Turkey and northern Iraq, April 5.
• Iraq officially accepts cease-fire terms, April 6.
• Task Force Provide Comfort forms and deploys, April 6.
• U.S. transports deliver 72,000 pounds of supplies in first six Operation Provide Comfort missions, April 7.
• Cease-fire takes effect, April 11.
• Construction of first Provide Comfort tent city begins near Zakhu, Iraq, April 20.
• U.N. commission assumes responsibility for Kurdish refugees, June 7.
  
  
  

  Allied Ground Order of Battle
  Allies	1-Aug-90	1-Oct-90	1-Nov-90	1-Dec-90
  Armed Forces Total Strength	1,128,000	1,107,000	1,107,000	1,110,000
  Ground Force Strength	842,500	828,500	828,500	831,500
  Divisions	21	21	21	21
  Maneuver Brigades	122	123	123	123
  Tanks	8,600	8,500	8,500	8,600
  Armored Vehicles (total)	15,800	15,000	15,000	15,000
  Artillery 100mm+	3,820	3,750	3,750	3,750
  (self-propelled)	620	550	550	550
  (towed)	3,200	3,200	3,200	3,200
  Multiple Rocket Launchers	790	800	800	800
  SSM (launchers)	100	100	100	100

  
  
  Joint Service Lightweight Integrated Suit Technology
  

  
  
  The Joint Service Lightweight Integrated Suit Technology or JSLIST consists of a two piece garment designed to replace the Navy's existing Chemical Protection Overgarment (CPO). 
  
  The JSLIST garment offers a number of advantages over the Navy' s current CPO. 
  
  The JSLIST garment features state-of-the-art chemical protective lining technology which provides increased chemical protection while allowing more mobility for the wearer, and can be laundered up to three times. 
  
  The CPO suit contains a charcoal impregnated lining. During wear, this lining is leached onto the wearer causing inner garments to become coated with charcoal dust. 
  
  The CPO suit would disintegrate if laundered.
  

  In 1993 the U.S. Marine Corps Systems Command, the U.S. Army Aviation and Troop Command, the U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command and the U.S. Air Force Material Command signed a Memorandum of Agreement establishing the JSLIST Program. The program combined development and testing efforts resulting in the procurement of a single U.S. military CBR Garment at a significantly reduced cost. 
  
  The U.S. Army Natick Soldier Systems Center is participating in the management, design and development of the next generation chemical/biological protective clothing system. Key requirements of the JSLIST program included protection against chemical/biological agents, a lighter weight, more flexible garment, and the ability to be laundered.
  
  Key requirements of the footwear include combined environmental and CB protection, POL resistance, and self flame extinguishing characteristics. In addition, the system is required to be durable, designed to take into account the human factors of (and acceptability to) the user, and reduce the heat stress associated with protective gear.
  
  JSLIST consolidates service programs to develop next generation chemical/biological protective clothing systems into common goal objectives: obtain the best suit possible at the least cost; minimize types of suits in service; maximize economies of scale; and conserve service resources. 
  
  JSLIST created an avenue for new, potential candidate chemical protective material technologies/prototype ensembles to be evaluated for technical merit and performance. This process screened potential technologies for inclusion into future advanced development programs. 

  
  Description:

  
  Components include an Overgarment to be worn over the Battle Dress Uniform (BDU), and the Multipurpose Rain / Snow / CB Overboot (MULO). These items allow complete MOPP and heat stress management flexibility while tailoring the protection levels relative to mission scenarios and threat. Procurement of these items began in FY97. 
  
  The JSLIST program developed and is fielding the JSLIST Overgarment and is manufacturing Multi-purpose Overboots (MULO). The JSLIST Overgarment and the Multipurpose Overboot (MULO) were adopted by all four services. These items, when combined with standard CB protective butyl gloves and masks for respiratory protection, allow complete MOPP flexibility. The Joint Firefighter Integrated Response Ensemble (J-FIRE) will also utilize the JSLIST overgarment.

  The JSLIST overgarment is designed to replace the Battle Dress Overgarment, the USMC Saratoga, and the Navy Chemical Protective Overgarment. It is lighter and less bulky than the previous Battle Dress Overgarment (BDO) chemical protective garments, is durable for 45 days, can be laundered up to six times and provides 24 hours of protection against liquid and vapor chemical challenges. 
  
  
  
  The overgarment consists of a coat and trousers. The trousers have bellows-type pockets, high-waist, adjustable suspenders, and adjustable waistband. The trousers also have a slide fastener front opening with protective flap and a bellows pocket with flap located on each thigh. Each leg opening has two hook and loop ankle adjustment tabs. The waist-length coat has an integral hood, a slide fastener front concealed by a flap with hook and loop closure, enclosed extendable elasticized drawcord hem with jacket retention cord, full-length sleeves with hoop and loop wrist closure adjustment tabs, and an outside bellows pocket with flap on the left sleeve. 
  
  The outer shell of both pieces is a 50/50 nylon/cotton poplin ripstop with a durable water repellent finish. The liner layer consists of a nonwoven front laminated to activated carbon spheres and bonded to a tricot knit back. Garments are being procured in 4-color Woodland Camouflage or 3-color DesertCamouflagepatterns.
  
  Component Materials: The outer shell is a 50/50 nylon/cotton poplin ripstop with a durable water repellent finish. The liner layer consists of a nonwoven front laminated to activated carbon spheres and bonded to a tricot knit back.

  
  Color: The outer layer is a 40 color Woodland Camouflage pattern or a 3-color Desert Camouflage pattern.

  
  Weight: 2.63 kg (5.8 lbs) per overgarment (Med/Reg)
  
  Size: Coat, 7 sizes, Small/X-Short through Large/Long; Trousers, 7 sizes, Small/X-Short through Large/Long
  
  Basis of Issue: The overgarment will be issued to troops requiring chemical protection.
  
  NSN: Coat, Med/Reg 8415-01-444-2310; Trousers, Med/Reg 8415-01-444-1238
  
  
  The JSLIST suit has a five-year shelf life, with an estimated total life of 15 years. 
  Once a production lot of suits has reached five years of age, samples from that lot are visually inspected and chemical agent tested to determine whether the shelf life of that lot should be extended an additional five years with sound confidence of quality / durability. 
  
  Once the suit reaches ten years of service life it is chemical tested, inspected, and if qualified, is extended annually thereafter. Equipment Assessment Program personnel will perform the visual inspection. The chemical testing will be performed by the Battelle Memorial Institute. Inspection and testing of the JSLIST suits will begin in FY02 (first five year period) for shelf life extension. Representative samples from FY97 production lots will be inspected at that time.

  
  JSLIST suits in packages with some loss of vacuum, but no clearly visible holes or tears, are considered fully mission-capable. If a bag is opened or accidentally torn, and has not been exposed to any petroleum, oil, or lubricant (POL) products or possible contaminants and not damaged in any way, it can be immediately re-packaged or carefully repaired with high quality adhesive tape, "duct tape", or some similar product to re-create the seal, and it will maintain its original shelf life. 
  
  Repair procedures to the inner bag should not obliterate surveillance data. If a package is visibly torn or punctured with no determination as to when it was damaged or to what contaminants the suit was exposed, the suit should be used for training only. 
  
  The words training only must be stenciled 2.5 inches high or larger on the outside of a sleeve or leg of the item, in a contrasting colored permanent ink.
  
  The Multi-purpose Overboots (MULO) will replace the black vinyl overboot/ green vinyl overboot (BVO/GVO). The MULO is a 60 day boot that provides 24 hours of chemical protection. The boot has increased traction, improved durability, petroleum, oil, and lubricant (POL) and flame resistance, and better chemical protection than the BVO/GVO.
  
  The focus of Joint Service Lightweight Integrated Suit Technology Pre-Planned Product Improvement (JSLIST P3I) is to leverage Industry for mature fabric technologies for use in garments. 
  
  The existing JSLIST design will be used as the baseline, with minimum modification as necessary for improvement. Mature fabric technologies and designs for gloves and socks will be sought as well to address the glove and sock requirements that were not met in JSLIST.

  
  A market survey was conducted in FY97. Materials received from responding forms were evaluated, and material screening was scheduled to be completed in 4FQ98. Field evaluation was projected to start 1QFY99, and technology insertion in 1QFY00.

  
  The JSLIST P3I is a follow-on to the existing JSLIST program which developed a joint service chemical protective ensemble. It will address the JSLIST objectives (i.e. desired) requirements and those that were not met. This joint program will include full participation by the US Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, and Navy.

  
  The JSLIST Block 1 Glove Upgrade (JB1GU) Program is seeking an interim glove to replace the current butyl rubber glove. The follow on to the JB1GU will be the JB2GU program that will be produce gloves for both ground and aviation units. 
  
  The Joint Protective Aircrew Ensemble (JPACE) will be developed to provide aviators with the same advantages and improved protection as JSLIST provides to other warfighters. Similarly, clothing systems for Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) personnel and firefighters are required to enhance existing chemical protection systems.

  
  In an attempt to encourage competition and lower costs, the Joint Service Lightweight Integrated Suit Technology (JSLIST) program solicited in 4QFY00 for JSLIST overgarments in alternate materials, but having the exact same design as the original JSLIST. 
  
  The purpose of the JSLIST Additional Source Qualification (JASQ) program is to qualify additional manufacturers to provide JSLIST overgarments. Manufacturers could also submit Industry Initiated Demonstration Products (IIDP) in alternate materials that might require a different design. 
  
  These though will be evaluated for potential use in future garments and can not be qualified for use as a substitute JSLIST overgarment. After release of Request for Proposal in FY00, four candidate materials and two IIDP candidates were received. 
  
  All have completed field-testing at 29 Palms, Cold Regions Test Center, and Tropic Test Center 4QFY01 – 2QFY02. Due to funding shortfalls, chemical agent swatch testing has been postponed until 1QFY03. Upon completion of agent testing, the candidates will be evaluated for inclusion on the Qualified Products List (QPL).

  
  Suit shortages are projected to escalate in the next few years because the majority of suits in the current inventory will reach the end of their useful life and expire by 2007, and new Joint Service Lightweight Integrated Suit Technology (JSLIST) suits, along with other new generation protective ensemble components such as gloves and boots, are not entering the inventory as quickly as originally planned. Consequently, the old suits are expiring faster than they are being replaced.

  
  Some ensemble components, particularly suits, may not be available in adequate numbers to meet near-term minimum requirements. As of August 30, 2002, DOD had procured about 1.5 million of the new JSLIST suits, of which the majority were issued to the military services. Others are held in Defense Logistics Agency reserves, provided to foreign governments under the Foreign Military Sales program, or allocated to domestic uses. 
  
  Together with the existing inventory of earlier-generation suits, it was estimated that DOD had a total of 4.5 million suits.

  
  In late 2002 service members issued chemical protective suits for possible action in Iraq were advised to check the package to make sure they are not among 250,000 potentially defective garments that remain unaccounted for. If the label says the suit was made by “Isratex,” or if it has a lot number of either DLA100-92-C-0427 or DLA100-89-C-0429, soldiers may want to ask for a different set of protective garments.

  
  All garments made by the now-bankrupt Isratex company have been recalled. 
  
  In a recent hearing, members of the House Government Reform Committee expressed concern about the possibility that troops heading for Iraq could end up with the flawed suits. Department of Defense officials said they had no evidence the suits had been destroyed and no way to track them if they have not been destroyed. However, logistics experts believed the missing suits had long since been used for training, then discarded.

  
  The suits are packed in sealed packages that are supposed to clearly show the lot number, manufacturer, and date of production. Officially called battle dress overgarments, the suits were made by Isratex in 1989 and 1992 in both desert and woodland camouflage patterns. The chemical protective suits passed initial quality-control screening, but in 1999 underwent rigorous testing in preparation for court action against Isratex management. 
  
  At that time, inspectors found seven “critical” defects in a sample of 500 units. The defects included holes or poor stitching. Whenever a single critical defect is found in suits, the entire lot must be removed from combat inventories. The defects were found in the 1992 suits—lot number DLA100-92-C-0427. 
  
  Suits made in 1989—lot number DLA100-89-C-0429—have passed all quality-control inspections, but have also been recalled because they were made by Isratex. The suits are used mainly by the Army and Air Force, which scoured their overseas inventories in 2000 after news reports about the potentially defective garments. 

  
  U.S. ARMY CHEMICAL CORPS HISTORY
  
  The U.S. Army Chemical Corps traces its history back to World War I. The German use of chemical weapons led General John J. Pershing to urge the creation of a specialized gas unit so that the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) would have the same capability as both allies and enemies. The War Department created the Gas Service, but quickly changed the name to what it really did – the Chemical Warfare Service (CWS) on June 2, 1918. The CWS trained and equipped the AEF for chemical combat. Also created as the chemical offensive arm of the AEF, the First Gas Regiment was formed and trained to provide the chemical offensive punch, and did so in the Meuse-Argonne and St. Mihiel campaigns.
  
  During the early 1920s the Army came very close to eliminating the CWS, but realized that having a chemical capability was useful, and made the CWS a permanent branch of the Army. During the inter-war years, although on a very lean budget, the CWS continued to experiment in offensive and defensive chemical operations.
  
  When the war clouds gathered over Europe, Congress funded the rapid expansion of the CWS. Just before the war, Colonel Lewis McBride developed a high explosive round for the 4.2 mortar giving Chemical Mortar Battalions the ability to closely support the infantry. Chemical Smoke Generator Battalions provided smoke to protect cities and harbors from air attack, and to cover river crossings and other type of offensive operations.
  
  Flame weapons were provided by the CWS for combat in the Pacific, and they were instrumental in destroying Japanese fortifications. Although not used in WWII, the CWS was given the lead for the development of biological weapons, and as a result, then-Camp Detrick was created exclusively for biological warfare experimentation.
  
  In 1946, the CWS was re-designated the Chemical Corps and became a branch of the U.S. Army, and true to its mission from the start, the corps continued improving chemical and biological offensive and defensive capabilities as well as smoke and flame systems.
  
  During the Korean War, CWS units provided smoke to hide operations from the enemy as well as flame and incendiary weapons. The Vietnam Era saw the corps develop "people sniffers" to find the enemy, better thickened fuel flame devices to clear large areas of mines and booby traps, and to prepare helicopter landing fields. The Corps deployed herbicides to deny cover to the enemy. The famous "tunnel rats" went down into the tunnels of Cu Chi to find the enemy.
  
  With the post-Vietnam demobilization, there was a move within the Army to again abolish the Chemical Corps. The corps was partially demobilized and much of its function shifted from Fort McClellan, Alabama to Aberdeen, Maryland. But, the realization of the scope of Russian chemical and biological research and development resurrected the corps and set it on its unchanging mission of protecting the force.
  
  This was put to the test during the Gulf War where the U.S. Army faced a foe that had a demonstrated history of using chemical weapons. Through hard work and diligence, the corps ensured that the troops deployed to the Gulf were trained and ready for any chemical attack
  
  Having prepared for OPERATION DESERT STORM, the Chemical Corps built on that experience to develop and field improved smoke and better individual protection systems. The corps also developed a capability to detect biological attacks with the fielding of the Biological Integrated Detection System or BIDS.
  
  As a result of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission, Fort McClellan was closed, and the corps moved its entire assets and personnel to new facilities at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. The corps is now part of the Maneuver Support Center along with the Engineer and Military Police Corps. Since 1918, the Chemical Corps mission has not changed, nor will it change into the foreseeable future. The threat remains high. PROTECT THE FORCE!
   

THE ARMY REGIMENTAL SYSTEM

The regimental system exists to drive a feeling deep into the gut -- a sense of the past, of those soldiers who served before. And it’s supposed to reinforce a sense of the present, making service a soldier's turn on watch to preserve a legacy for those who follow.

It’s a big system that manifests itself in little ways, like looking at the symbolism of the regimental crest and realizing that soldiers just like those of today made those symbols important. It is more than just wearing that unit crest over your right pocket. That hunk of metal was bought and paid for long ago. The regimental system may affect home basing and assignments. But it will give soldiers something that will help them when times get hard, something that will endure for the rest of their lives -- PRIDE.

THE CHEMICAL CORPS REGIMENT

When today’s Chemical Soldiers become affiliated with the Chemical Corps Regiment, they take on the spirit of the Dragon Soldiers who fought on the fields of France more than seventy-five years ago. The establishment of the Chemical Corps Regiment on June 28, 1986 gave each of our soldiers the opportunity to realize how important it is to keep the spirit of the regiment alive.

Key to the Regiment are soldiers: brothers and sisters in arms who today serve from the cold of Alaska to the jungles of Panama; from Korea to Germany; each of them sharing pride in their country and a dedication to the defense of freedom that the Chemical Corps has fought for since its birth. They include all who fought in World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and Southwest Asia. The Chemical Regiment should, every day, remind each one of us that our country and Corps exist because soldiers gave their last full measure of devotion to the country and the Corps.