Weapons of Mass Destruction and Domestic Force Protection: Basic Response Capability for Military, Police & Security Forces

Abstract

Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) and Force Protection are two critical topics rapidly gaining attention throughout the world. An increasing recognition of the vulnerability of our citizens and of our military forces due to recent terrorist attacks has caused the President of the United States and Congress to take several actions to improve preparedness. This paper examines what a minimum basic response capability for all military, police and security forces should be to ensure at least some chance for their own survival and possible early warning and protection of others in the case of a domestic WMD incident. The capabilities of awareness, protection and detection are studied including the aspects of training and equipment. The paper shows that the WMD threat to America is significant and increasing and makes several recommendations including that all first responders receive training to increase their awareness and understanding of WMD, the adoption nationally of a minimum personal protection equipment standard for first responders to accomplish EPA Level C protection, and the development of a WMD response capability modeled on national level asset capability for all cities, counties, or states.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 07, 1999
Accession Number
ADA363586

Entities

People

  • Samuel E. Manto

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Chemical Warfare Agents
  • Detection
  • Employment
  • First Responders
  • Force Protection
  • Law
  • Medical Personnel
  • National Security
  • Personnel Management
  • Protective Equipment
  • Protective Masks
  • Security
  • Security Personnel
  • Standards
  • United States
  • War Colleges
  • Weapons Of Mass Destruction

Readers

  • Cybersecurity.
  • Strategic Security Studies