The U.S. Department of the Army has issued new guidance to service members and others on how to deal with a weapon-of-mass-destruction threat, whether it is biological, chemical, nuclear or radiological, according to Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin.
The report, “Combined Arms Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction,” confronts the fact that both “state and nonstate actors” increasingly threaten the U.S. with such weapons.
“The National Security Strategy of the United States, the Department of Defense Strategy to Counter Weapons of Mass Destruction, and the National Military Strategy of the United States identify WMD as one of the key security challenges facing the United States,” the doctrine explains.
“Countering WMD is an enduring mission of the U.S. armed forces. Potential adversaries continue to pursue WMD capabilities to enhance their stature and provide leverage against the U.S., its allies, and its interests.
“Increased access by state and nonstate actors to WMD materials, expertise, and technology heighten these risks, as does the threat of rogue and unstable WMD armed states.”
The report includes five chapters outlining the fundamentals of countering such formidable weapons, the planning of missions, controlling WMD threats, how to defeat and disable the threats, and how to keep American forces safe and minimize “consequences.”
“This manual provides tactical-level commanders, staff, and key agencies with a primary reference for planning, synchronizing, integrating, and executing combined arms CWMD. It … integrates current guidance … introduces the challenges associated with chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear sites to include sensitive weapons of mass destruction and select CBRN and hazardous industrial material, serves as the integrating doctrinal reference for supporting Army publications … acts as a bridge for tactical CWMD operations.”
For example, it says those who encounter such threats should seek “to understand the threat and its environment, to work with partners in the fight, to control, defeat and disabled the threats, and to safeguard the force, and, if necessary, manage the consequences.”
“The overall CWMD construct entails the execution of tactical and operational tasks and an understanding of the special considerations associated with CBRN environments and WMD-related objectives. Army forces must establish and maintain a base of fundamental individual and collective CBRN defense skills, which enable the ability to function and survive in a CBRN environment,” the report says.
For the rest of this report, and more, please go to Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin.
