The United States Army classifies Weapons of Mass Destruction into the three aforementioned groups.

  • Nuclear - Nuclear Weapons, Depleted Uranium, etc..
  • Biological - Anthrax, Smallpox, Biotoxins (i.e. Botox)
  • Chemical - Blood, Choking, Blister, and Nerve agents.

    A Biological agent is what's called persistent. That is, it stays in the area for prolonged periods and is difficult to get rid of. Chemical agents are both persistent and non-persistent. The non persistent agents, like most nerve agents, evaporate quickly, causing a vapor hazard. The persistent agents, like most blister agents, stay in liquid form for long periods, causing prolonged contamination hazards. The military considers nuclear fallout to be the most dangerous radiological hazard.

    You know what the military does with contaminated items? They bury them.

    Now from a military standpoint, the point of WMDs is not to kill troops but to cause the soldier to assume what is known as a MOPP posture. This stands for Mission Oriented Protective Posture.

  • MOPP Level 0 - Mask Carried, Gear Accessible.
  • MOPP Level 1 - Suit Worn, Mask Carried.
  • MOPP Level 2 - Suit and Boots Worn, Mask and Gloves Carried.
  • MOPP Level 3 - Suit, Boots, and Mask Worn, Gloves Carried.
  • MOPP Level 4 - Suit, Boots, Mask, and Gloves Worn.

    Now, MOPP gear causes core body temperature to increase by up to 10 degrees. In addition, the suit is bulky and uncormfortable, and the gloves make detailed work extremely difficult and frustrating. The mask is suffocating, and difficult to see out of, reducing fire accuracy. This degrades what the Army calls Combat Power. That is, the effectivness of the soldier in combat operation. The enemy knows that the United States is highly trained and protected. They will use the WMDs, particularly Chemical/Biological, to degrade a unit's combat effectivness. Any soldiers killed in the process is simply a bonus. In addition, there is the psychological effect of Terror that adds to operational degradation.


    United States Policy on WMDs.

  • Chemical - Never use offensively. Reserve small amount for defense and research.
  • Biological - Never use offensively. Reserve small amount for defense and research.
  • Nuclear - U.S. reserves the right to use Nuclear Weapons at its discretion.


    Chemical\Biological Contamination - After contamination has been detected and troops have assumed MOPP posture, testing begins to identify source. Once the unit has moved from the area, or the area has been thoroughly decontaminated, testing begins using appropriate equipment. If no contamination is found, 1 soldier is selected. Criteria are as follows:

  • Lowest Rank
  • Lowest Operational Dependency - That is, the least important S.S.O.B.

    They are moved to a shaded area, and begin MOPP removal procedures. After removing mask, subject is observed for 5 minutes. If no symptoms of contamination show, continue "All-Clear" procedures. The Commander will then, under advisory assistance from the NBC NCO or NBC OIC, give the "All-Clear" for the rest of the unit to reduce MOPP posture.