-CBN Protection-
Maybe the chief concern on the minds of war planners in 1990/91 was Iraq’s supply of chemical weapons. After the war, Iraq reported having 75 tons of Sarin, 500 tons of Tabun, and 280 tons of mustard gas. Saddam Hussein had shown in the past he was not afraid to use those weapons, even on his own population if he felt it necessary. This meant coalition forces had to be ready to protect their soldiers from chemical attack.
82nd Airborne troopers would have had several items available individually. These included the M258A1 personal decontamination kit, the M17A1/M17A2 gas masks with chemical hood, a chemical helmet cover (rarely seen except in some training photos from the KSA), rubber gloves with inserts, and rubber overboots. There were also charcoal lined protective overgarments called BDO’s (Battledress Overgarments). These BDO’s were in M81 woodland camo because none had been manufactured in the 6-color desert camo.
Whatever was worn, it was all unbearably hot. Donning heavyweight charcoal lined overgarments over your less-than-breathable DBDU and then adding a rubber gas mask and waterproof hood, rubber gloves and over boots was a recipe for heat stroke.
There are also pictures from training exercises during Desert Shield (see the top of this page) which show soldiers wearing wet weather gear. This was used as a training aid since the actual BDO’s were kept sealed until they were to be used, as their effectiveness has a shelf life once put into use.
While there was likely some amount of exposure to chemical agents due to strikes on Iraq’s chemical weapon stores, Saddam thankfully did not actively use those chemicals on the battlefield.
Let’s take a look at individual pieces of the CBN kit.
The M17A1/2 gas mask was carried in a bag on the hip or sometimes slung over the shoulder. The mask itself was an improvement over the earlier M17 with the M17A1 boasting a “resuscitation” tube that would allow artificial respiration to unconscious soldiers and a drinking tube that would allow soldiers to drink from canteens with the special black adapter cap while wearing the mask. The M17A2 was essentially the same mask without the resuscitation tube. As best I can tell, both versions of the mask made it to the Gulf.
The CBN gloves issued to the 82nd would have been a pair like these.
These rubber gloves came dusted in talc or something similar to keep them from sticking together in the packaging and included cotton cloth liners for sweat absorption and to make them more comfortable. In cold weather, cold weather leather gloves could be worn over them, making a cumbersome set of gloves even more cumbersome.
The chemical over boots were (in my opinion) particularly awful. I understand the thinking behind them. The ability to pack them flat and carry them more easily than a standard pair of boots is certainly a plus but the trade off is that they are a bit harder to don and less durable than a simple pair of rubber boots.
The lacing set up in particular would be difficult to complete with the chemical gloves already in place. I can imagine they weren’t terribly durable either. Having a stray rock rake the side of the boot would likely pierce the material.
Like everything else CBN, wearing these probably involved a lot of sweating. A sock with a leather jungle boot over it, with a rubber chemical boot over that, all tucked under a charcoal lined pair of trousers, in the desert, would have been like a sauna for your feet.
Besides the gas mask bags seen on the hip of almost every soldier in every picture from the first Gulf War, the other item seen the most was the personal decontamination kit; a small plastic case that housed wipes for removing chemical agents from the skin. A standard kit is the plastic carrier case with three total packets of two different cleansing items; a pre-saturated wipe and an impregnated pad with glass vials. Below is an example from my collection.
For a look at how these kits were employed, see the 1986 training video below:
One of the other items you will see in the vid above is the M13 Decontamination kit, also know as the “Decontaminating Apparatus: Portable, 14 Liter, M13.
Below is an example of one of these kits from my collection as well as the accompanying manual that came with it. I have a feeling this particular kit was used for training because the whole system is in great shape and the plastic bristles of the brush haven’t corroded away due to exposure to DS2. The chemical reservoir, however, is real, but was empty when I acquired it and punctured on the bottom to ensure no more liquid chemical remained inside. If a significant amount had, one would imagine the container likely would have rusted through after almost 40 years of contact with DS2.
DS2, the chemical used in this system was not only flammable, it was also not kind to rubbers, plastics, metal, skin, or the environment around it. Like many things involving chemical warfare it was a lesser evil when a vehicle or object was already contaminated with an offensive chemical weapon. As noted in the video, even CBN gear was not adequate protection against it. DS2 was replaced by M100 in the mid 2000’s. I shudder to think what might have become of the old stockpiles of DS2.
I can’t find any firsthand accounts of DS2 actually being used for decontamination during the Gulf War. While there were many chemical alarms and alerts, there were no indications of a chemical attack that would have necessitated the use of DS2 on vehicles or equipment. However, I have no doubt the kits were present and ready in case of such an attack.
Another somewhat controversial part of the CBN defense kit was the pyridostigmine bromide (or “PB”) pill. These were issued to soldiers but were only to be used when instructed. As the 82nd prepared to strike into Iraq, they were instructed.
Pyridostigmine bromide, to make a long complicated explanation short and simple, decreases the risk of death from nerve agents by taking the place in in the nervous system where the nerve agents end up. Those nerve agents would normally cause buildup of a natural body chemical at nerve junctions that could cause paralysis and eventually death. Pyridostigmine bromide basically worked prophylactically against nerve agents.
Among many of the other chemicals soldiers were exposed to, PB pills have been thought to be a cause of “Gulf War Syndrome” in soldiers who served in the KSA and Iraq. There have been studies that are both for and against this notion, with the VA ultimately deciding that “the evidence does not support an association.”
-CBN Detection-
There were several systems in place for the detection of chemical weapons. For the individual this took the form of the M256A1 Chemical Agent Detector Kit. In as little as 20 minutes, this personal kit could be used to identify Blister Agents (CX, HD, L), Nerve Agents (V- and G- types), Blood Agents (AC, CK), Lewisite (L), Mustard (H, HD, HN, and HT) in either vapor or liquid form. These kits are not front line “early warning” systems for determining if chemical agents are present, but to confirm they are and which type. Despite this, it was likely more accurate than the M8A1 alarm, which was prone to false positives from oil smoke and vehicle exhaust. Some of these units were so badly affected by smoke from burning oil wells they got “stuck” in alarm mode and had to be sent in for maintenance. The M8A1 also had batteries which were only usable for half their normal life in the heat of the desert.
Each M256A1 kit comes with a booklet of M8 paper, 12 sampler/detector packets, and an instruction card set attached to the carrying case by a lanyard. Below are some pictures of one of these from my personal collection. Interestingly, the M8 paper is made in Canada. Great Britain and Canada issued this kit as well, but it’s odd to see a “US” kit with a Canadian component. The other example of this kit I have seen has M8 paper from a manufacturer in New York.
If you’d like to see an autopsy of this kit there just so happens to be one on Youtube. This vid also includes a little bit more about the history of this kit.
For more information about this kit see the GulfLINK page about it.
GulflINK also has an extensive section about the early detection M8A1 system as well.