File: 970903_oct1_0019.txt
Page: 0019
Total Pages: 106

NBC Defense

the command OG-84 or the MK-EV British Suit. Marines were in and out of full Mission
Oriented Protective Posture (MOPP) on numerous occasions due to chemical detector
false alan-ns and unconfirmed reports of agent use. From an NBC defense standpoint,
the meteorological conditions at the start of the ground war were ideal for the Marint!s.
The wind was blowing towards Iraqi Positions which limited agent employment
capability, and the rain kept Marines coot and would have reduced agent effectiveness.
It simply was not a good night for Iraqi employment of agents. The major chemical
th.reat during the assault was from the unknown constituents of the dense smoke
emanating from burning oil wells (see photograph Appendix G-2).

(S) Good intelligence information was provided to the MFF staff on chemical
production, muriirions stockpiles, and agent storage capabilities. However, information
on biological warfare capability, chemical rrdne employment, @nd potential existence of
Scud chemical payloads was never presented with ceqainty. II Obtair@ng good
biological warfare intelligence was complicated by the enormous amount of dead
animals found throughout the desert and Kuwait. Those animal kill sites checked by a
ream from the Navy Forward Lab (NFL) proved negative. However, the potential threat
from biological agents always remained an unknown. 18 In the Marine Corps sector,
there was no hard evidence that chemical mines were emplaced in the minebeits.
Evidence also was not found in the sector indicating Iraq had a chemical Scud
capability. It should be noted that four months after the war with Iraq, they reported
possession of thirty chen-dcal Scuds to an international observer team. E-9

(S) IntelEgence reports that Iraq was using predomii=tly Soviet individual
protective equipment proved false. Captured Iraqi NBC equipment consisted of a wide
range of protective masks and other equipment. The iraqps had very little
standardization on NBC equipment and for the most part, they were not as well
equipped as the Marines. However, some captured individual equipment was clearly
state of the art. Iraq evidently had purchased a significant number of the latest model
protective masks from Dragar of West Germany, some respirators of the Dragar design
were found with only Iraqi markings, indicating that Iraq was either producing or
buying these masks without Dragar markings. In the 2d MAELDRV sector a state of the
art, "Von Blucher Sphere" breathable protective suit was discovered (see photograph in
Appendix G-3). This suit had a US desert pattern, and was very similar to "Saratoga
Suit" concept under purchase contract by the Marine Corps. Iraqi prisoners indicated

78ased on numerous interviews and review of I MEF messages
I-L,MCCLS tape #1090
19CSPAN reporting of General Schwarzkopfs testimony to congress, 14 June 91