CHEMICAL/BIOLOGICAL DEFENSE (EMD)

Abstract

Operational forces have an immediate need to survive, safely operate, and sustain operations in a Chemical and Biological (CB) threat environment across the continuum of global, contingency, special operations/low intensity conflict, counternarcotics, and other high-risk missions. Operating forces have a critical need for defense against worldwide proliferation of CB warfare capabilities and for medical treatment of CB casualties. Congress directed centralized management of Department of Defense (DoD) CB Defense initiatives, both medical and non-medical. This program element supports the System Development and Demonstration (SDD) of medical and non-medical CB defensive equipment and materiel. Projects within BA5 are structured to consolidate Joint and Service-unique tasks within four commodity areas: contamination avoidance, individual and collective force protection, decontamination, and medical countermeasures. This consolidation provides for development and operational testing of equipment for Joint Service use and for Service-unique requirements. Contamination avoidance efforts under this system development program will provide U.S. forces with real-time hazard assessment capabilities. They include multi-agent point and remove chemical detection for ground, aircraft, and shipboard applications; automated warning and reporting systems; integrated radiation detection and monitoring equipment; and enhanced battlefield reconnaissance capabilities. Force protection efforts will increase protection levels while decreasing physical and psychological burdens imposed by protective equipment. The DoD Biological Defense mission requires the detection of validated biological threat agents to provide early warning capabilities on mobile and fixed platforms. This program, element will provide theater protection through the development of point and stand-off detection systems. The detection system concept will provide detection, identification, warning, and sample collection for verification that a biological agent attack has occurred. The Secretary of Defense is responsible for research, development, acquisition, and deployment of medical countermeasure equipment and materiel to prevent or mitigate the health effects of CB threats to the Armed Forces and directs strategic planning for and oversight of programs to support medical countermeasures development and acquisition for our Armed Forces personnel. The CB medical threat to the Armed Forces, in contrast with public health threats to U.S. citizens, encompasses all potential or continuing enemy actions that can render a Service Member combat ineffective. CB medical threats, because they apply as a whole to military units deployed on a specific mission and/or operations, may result in the unit being unable to complete its mission. CB medical countermeasures developed by DoD, unlike those developed to support U.S. population, must support military commanders practical operational requirements and deployment strategies and must emphasize prevention of injury and illness and protection of the force. Preventive measures in this SDD, such as vaccines and chemical prophylaxis, conserves fighting strength, decreases the logistics burden by reducing the need for larger deployed hospital footprint and greater demand for tactical and strategic medical evacuation, and satisfy the need for greater flexibility in military planning and operations. When vaccines and other prophylactic medical countermeasures are not available, efforts on this SDD support pre-hospitalization treatment, en-route care, hospital care, and long-term clinical outcomes. Specific items in this category include CB diagnostics, and therapeutics to mitigate the consequences of biologic threats and exposure to ionizing radiation due to nuclear or radiological attacks. DoD is the only Federal activity conducting SDD on these prophylactic, therapeutic and rapid identification and diagnostic CB medical countermeasures. The Department of Defense coordinates its efforts with the Departments of Health and Human Services to promote synergy and minimize redundancy. This Department of Defense ensures coordination by participating in the Public Health Emergency Medical Countermeasures Enterprise interagency strategic planning process ("One Portfolio"). The Department of Defense's longstanding experience and success in CB medical countermeasure research, development, acquisition, and deployment not only ensures protection of the Armed Forces, it also accelerates and improves the overall national efforts in CB medical countermeasure research, development, and acquisition because of its unique facilities, testing capabilities, and trained and experienced personnel. Key efforts within this PE are in support of the FY14 policy priorities for Countering Biological Threats. Approximately $148.4M supports the priority to "Promote global health security efforts through building and improving international capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease threats, whether caused by natural, accidental, or deliberate events." Approximately $61.8M supports the priority to "Expand our capability to prevent, attribute, and apprehend those engaged in biological weapons proliferation or terrorism, with a focus on facilitating data sharing and knowledge discovery to improve integrated capabilities." Approximately $288.3M supports the priority to "Leverage science, technology, and innovation through domestic and international partnerships and agreements to improve global capacity to respond to and recover from biological incidents." The projects in this program element support efforts in the engineering and manufacturing phase of the acquisition strategy and are therefore correctly placed in Budget Activity 5.

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Document Details

Document Type
R2 Budgetary Justification
Publication Date
Oct 01, 2014
Source ID
0604384BP_5_0400_PB_2014
Change Summary Explanation
Funding: Adjustments less than 10% of total program. Schedule: N/A Technical: N/A
Service Agency Name
Chemical and Biological Defense Program

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Business Administration
  • Chemical Warfare
  • Chemical Warfare Agents
  • Detectors
  • Environmental Monitoring
  • Equine Encephalitis
  • Health Services
  • Information Systems
  • Medical Personnel
  • Software Testing
  • Systems Engineering
  • Test And Evaluation
  • Test Equipment
  • Therapy
  • Viruses
  • Warfare
  • Warning Systems

Readers

  • Critical Infrastructure Protection in CBRN and WMD Threats.
  • Defense Acquisition Program Management
  • Maritime Combat Support and Expeditionary Logistics.

Technology Areas

  • Biotechnology

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