Medical Management of the Chemical Casualties Handbook

Excerpt from USAMRIID's Medical Management of Chemical Casualties Handbook: "Chemical warfare is not a popular topic, and most military health care providers do not willingly become familiar with it. This was painfully obvious during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm when it soon became apparent that many health care providers knew little about the effects of chemical agents or the medical defense against them. This ignorance was particularly striking in view of the seven-decade long history of modern chemical warfare and the well-publicized use of mustard and nerve agents during the Iran-Iraq War in the1980s. The prevailing attitude of military health care providers was that chemical agents would be used only on Hmong, Afghans, Kurds, or similarly unprepared and unprotected groups of people. Further, many health care providers believed if chemical weapons were used the outcome would be disastrous, defense would be impossible, and the casualty rate and loss of life would be high."U. S. Army Medical Department Staff is the author of 'Medical Management of the Chemical Casualties Handbook ', published 2000 under ISBN 9781588081681 and ISBN 1588081680.