The Relevance of the Chemical Corps as a Deterrent

摘要

It s no secret that many Soldiers from other branches-and even some fellow Dragon Soldiers-view the Chemical Corps as "irrelevant" and that resistance to chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) training has been continually building. CBRN Soldiers are being tasked to serve in other areas, and their required training is being rescheduled to accommodate training in the tasks they will actually perform when deployed. These ideas and practices are based on the misconception that, if CBRN Soldiers aren 't responding to chemical attacks, they are not performing their duty to protect Soldiers from chemical weapons. This is not true. CBRN Soldiers prevent attacks from occurring simply by being trained and equipped to deal with them. The greatest deterrent to the use of chemical weapons is a competent, effective CBRN defense program.When making a decision about whether to invest in the development and use of chemical weapons, an enemy must perform a cost/benefit analysis. The potential benefits of chemical weapons can be analyzed by examining how they have historically been employed, determining the effects they have had, and extrapolating the results to the modern setting.