STATUS OF USAMRDC CHEMICAL CASUALTY CARE

File: 970101_sep96_decls28_0014.txt
Page: 0014
Total Pages: 24

Subject: STATUS OF USAMRDC CHEMICAL CASUALTY CARE                        

Unit: OTSG        

Parent Organization: HSC         

Box  ID: BX003201

Folder Title: STATUS OF USAMRDC CHEMICAL CASUALTY CARE SUPPORT                                                

Document Number:       1001

Folder Seq  #:         67







                      (4)    USAMRICD Technical Memorandum 90-3. 'Me concept of use and
              scientific basis for the new diazepam autoinjector (convulsant antidote, nerve agent).
                      (5)    A guide for litter patient decontamination.
                      (6)    An outline of chemical patient triage.
                      (7)    An information sheet comparing the effects of several chemical warfare
              agents.
                      (8)    A set of 5 interval quiz sheets presented during the course. The interval
              quizzes are designed to help you formulate concepts and follow-on questions and will be
              considered during the course instruction. You must complete the quiz sheets prior to
              attending the condensed course.

                      Recognizing that assembling a course to meet an immediate operational need did
              not permit the lead time to prepare a fully integrated text, this guide will provide you
              with an overview of key concepts and with discussion of topics not covered in the other
              teaching materials.


              4.      BACKGROUND INFORMATION


              THREE FALSE ASSUMPTIONS:

                      Up until August 1990, M2C3 was not a high-demand, sought-after course among
              Army physicians. Among all the topics competing for a military pbysiciaivs interest,
              M2C3 ranked solidly near the bottom. In large part, it appears that three widely-held
              false assumptions have contributed to this lack of interest. Even though your interest
              may now be intense, it will be useful to examine the assumptions you might have held,
              because old mindsets tend to persist and act as inhibitors to learning.

                      1.     Medical Chemical Defense as Part of the NBC Trap: Much Army training
              concerning chemical warfare agents is presented under the terrifying and mysterious
r, Biological, and Chemical Warfare, or NBC. Training has had a
              tendency to focus on the most sensational and fatalistic aspects of this overall category.
              Familiar examples include the idea that chemical warfare in an East-West context is an
              immediate prelude to global thermonuclear war and the end of life on the planet.
              Another is the use of theoretical biological threat lists of dozens of exotic organisms with
              no known prevention or cure. In the atmosphere of confusion and doom generated by
              most discussions of this topic, it is easy to miss the fact that the real dimensions of the
              chemical threat, especially that posed by Iraq, amount to nerve, blister and blood agents,
              three well-understood and straightforward medical management problems. Breaking
              these out of the conceptual NBC trap is a key step in realistic learning.

                      2.     Chemical Warfare Is Somethingnat Happens In the Third World, But
              Never to Us: This assumption had more believers before August 1990. There are few
              takers among Desert Shield soldiers.


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Document 24 f:/Week-36/BX003201/STATUS OF USAMRDC CHEMICAL CASUALTY CARE SUPPORT/status of usamrdc chemical casualty care:12249609312729
Control Fields 17
File Room = sep96_declassified
File Cabinet = Week-36
Box ID = BX003201
Unit = OTSG
Parent Organization = HSC
Folder Title = STATUS OF USAMRDC CHEMICAL CASUALTY CARE SUPPORT
Folder Seq # = 67
Subject = STATUS OF USAMRDC CHEMICAL CASUALTY CARE
Document Seq # = 1001
Document Date =
Scan Date =
Queued for Declassification = 01-JAN-1980
Short Term Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Long Term Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Permanent Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Non-Health Related Document = 01-JAN-1980
Declassified = 24-DEC-1996