Chemical Warfare Gear Not "Good to Go"

Dear Congress:

While you ponder green-lighting war with Iraq, you need to know that our deployed troops – who will be at the highest risk from deadly biological/chemical attack – are not good to go. Many soldiers are sounding off about the poor quality of their bio/chem protection and detection gear and the bio/chem training they've received. They rightly figure that Saddam Hussein will do his worst in a desperate last-ditch stand, and they'll end up as the meat in the hazmat sandwich.

"I'm the nuclear, biological and chemical [NBC] officer for my unit," says a leader in a unit bound for Kuwait. "Across the board, my soldiers don't feel confident with their protective gear or level of training. We know how to use the decontamination kits and other gear, but no one really knows if anything works."

"I worry about the NBC system on our [Abrams] tanks – there've been several fires recently caused by the system," says a company commander. "Another worry is all my tanks leak like sieves. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that chemical agents can kill the crew if water can get in our tanks at the wash rack."

"In two years, my battalion hasn't done a week of dedicated NBC training," says a commander. "Our NBC decontamination apparatus hasn't worked for over a year. The new protective suits haven't been issued. They tell me we'll get them just before we deploy – a little late to learn how to use 'em when we're moving out to fight."