home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- <text id=91TT0377>
- <title>
- Feb. 18, 1991: In Need Of Protection
- </title>
- <history>
- TIME--The Weekly Newsmagazine--1991
- Feb. 18, 1991 The War Comes Home
- </history>
- <article>
- <source>Time Magazine</source>
- <hdr>
- THE GULF WAR, Page 23
- In Need of Protection
- </hdr><body>
- <p> As a ground war in the gulf comes closer, so does the
- prospect of chemical warfare. If U.S. troops have to fight on
- a poisoned battlefield, will their gas masks and protective
- suits keep them safe? The not completely reassuring answer is,
- Yes, but...
- </p>
- <p> The American military gas mask, the M-17, was designed in
- 1955 and has not been significantly improved since. It has
- complicated straps and a hood that take time to sort out when
- delay can be fatal. Its filters are good for an hour or more
- in mustard gas but cannot be changed while the mask is being
- worn.
- </p>
- <p> One of the most outspoken critics of U.S. anti-gas equipment
- is Evan Koslow, former editor of the technical journal Nuclear,
- Biological and Chemical Defense & Technology. He says the M-17
- mask "gives very limited gas protection" compared with those
- produced by other NATO countries, most of which are more
- modern. He also claims that the protective clothing the U.S.
- uses can be penetrated by chemical agents.
- </p>
- <p> The Pentagon denies those charges. The M-17 mask and suit,
- says an Army spokesman, "will protect our soldiers." Martin
- Calhoun, an analyst at the independent Center for Defense
- Information in Washington, agrees: "The M-17 does its job." A
- study by the Government Accounting Office in 1986 found that
- while U.S. gear was old and bulky, it offered sufficient
- protection.
- </p>
- <p> The U.S. Army's attempts to produce a modern gas mask have
- cost $100 million but have been delayed 20 years by false
- starts and contract cancellations. Amid the praise for the
- Pentagon's high-tech weapons, its low-tech failures should also
- be noted.
- </p>
-
- </body></article>
- </text>
-
-