TAB A - Acronyms, Abbreviations, and Glossary
This tab provides a listing of acronyms and abbreviations found in this report. Additionally, the glossary section provides definitions for selected technical terms that are not found in common usage.
Acronyms and Abbreviations
Abn | Airborne (type of unit) |
ACIS | Arms Control Intelligence Staff |
ACR | Armored Cavalry Regiment (Army unit) |
ARCENT | US Army Component, Central Command |
ASP | Ammunition supply point |
BW | biological warfare |
C4 | Compound 4 (an explosive) |
CAM | Chemical Agent Monitor |
CBW | chemical and biological warfare |
CCEP | Comprehensive Clinical Evaluation Program |
CENTAF | Air Force Component, Central Command |
CHPPM | US Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine |
CIA | Central Intelligence Agency |
COAMPS | Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Mesoscale Prediction System |
COMUSARCENT | Commander, US Army Central Command |
CW | chemical warfare |
CW/BW | Chemical weapons/biological weapons |
DCI | Director, Central Intelligence |
DIA | Defense Intelligence Agency |
Div | Division (type of unit) |
DMDC | Defense Manpower Data Center |
DoD | Department of Defense |
DSWA | Defense Special Weapons Agency |
DTRA | Defense Threat Reduction Agency |
DVA | Department of Veterans Affairs |
ECMWF | European Centre for Medium-Range Forecasts |
EOD | Explosive Ordnance Disposal |
ESG | Environmental Support Group |
FRAGO | fragmentary order |
GDAS | Global Data Assimilation System |
HPAC | Hazard Prediction and Assessment Capability |
IDA | Institute for Defense Analyses |
KKMC | King Khalid Military City |
KTO | Kuwait Theater of Operations |
MARCENT | Marine Corps Component, Central Command |
mm | millimeter |
MM5 | Mesoscale Model, Version 5 |
NAVCENT | Navy Component, Central Command |
NCAR | National Center for Atmospheric Research |
NCO | Noncommissioned Officer |
NOAA | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |
NOGAPS | Naval Operational Global Atmospheric Prediction System |
NRL | Naval Research Laboratory |
NSA | National Security Agency |
NSC | National Security Council |
NSWC | Naval Surface Warfare Center |
NUSSE4 | Non-uniform Simple Surface Evaporation 4 transport and diffusion model |
NW | northwest |
OMEGA | Operational Multi-scale Environmental Model with Grid Adaptivity |
OPLAN | Operations Plan |
OPORD | Operations Order |
OSD | Office of the Secretary of Defense |
PAC | Presidential Advisory Commission on Gulfwar Veterans Illnesses |
PGIT | Persian Gulf Investigation Team |
PSOB | Presidential Special Oversight Board for the Department of Defense Investigations of Gulf War Chemical and Biological Incidents |
RGFC | Republican Guard Forces Command |
SAIC | Science Applications International Corporation |
SCIPUFF | Second Order Closure, Integrated Puff |
SE | southeast |
SITREP | Situation Report |
SOCCENT | Special Operations Component, CENTCOM |
SW | southwest |
US | United States |
USCENTCOM | US Central Command |
UN | United Nations |
UNSCOM | United Nations Special Commission on Iraq |
USASCURR | US Armed Services Center for Unit Records Research |
USCINCCENT | Commander-in-Chief, US Central Command |
UTM | Universal Transverse Mercator |
UXO | unexploded ordnance |
VLSTRACK | Vapor, Liquid, and Solid Tracking |
Blister agent | A blister agent is a chemical warfare agent that produces local irritation and damage to the skin and mucous membranes, pain and injury to the eyes, reddening and blistering of the skin, and when inhaled, damage to the respiratory tract. Blister agents include mustards (HD, HN, HQ, HT, and Q), arsenicals like lewisite (L), and mustard and lewisite mixtures (HL). Blister agents are also called vesicants or vesicant agents.[223,224] |
Chemical Agent Monitor (CAM) | A CAM is a hand-held, soldier-operated device that is used to monitor chemical warfare agent contamination on individuals and equipment.[225] |
Chemical warfare agent (CWA) | A CWA is a chemical substance excluding riot control agents, herbicides, smoke, and flame, used in military operations to kill, seriously injure, or incapacitate through its physiological effects. Included are blood, nerve, blister, choking, and incapacitating agents.[226] |
Comprehensive Clinical Evaluation Program (CCEP) | Developed by a multi-disciplinary team of DoD and DVA medical specialists, the Comprehensive Clinical Evaluation Program provides a two-phase, comprehensive medical evaluation. Phase I is conducted at the local medical treatment facility and consists of a history and medical examination comparable in scope and thoroughness to an in-patient hospital admissions evaluation. The medical review includes questions about family history, health, occupation, unique exposures in the Gulf War, and a structured review of symptoms. Health care providers specifically inquire about the symptoms and Persian Gulf exposures listed on the CCEP Provider-Administered Patient Questionnaire. The medical examination focuses on patients' symptoms and health concerns and includes standard laboratory tests (complete blood count, urinalysis, serum chemistries) and other tests as clinically indicated. Individuals who require additional evaluation after completing the Phase I evaluation and appropriate consultations may be referred to one of 14 Regional Medical Centers for Phase II evaluations. Regional Medical Centers are tertiary care medical centers that have representation from most major medical disciplines. Phase II evaluations consist of symptom-specific examinations, additional laboratory tests, and specialty consultations according to the prescribed protocol.[227] |
Cyclosarin | A nerve agent known as GF |
Dosage | Dosage is a cumulative exposure. It is the concentration of a chemical warfare agent to which an individual is exposed over a specific period of time.[229] |
Explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) | The detection, identification, on-site evaluation, rendering safe, recovery, and final disposal of unexploded explosive ordnance. It may also include removal of explosive ordnance that has become hazardous by damage or deterioration.[230] |
First Noticeable Effect (FNE) | First noticeable effect (FNE). This is the dose expected to cause watery eyes, runny nose, tightness of chest, muscle twitching, sweating, and headache. Increasingly higher dosages would produce vision impairment, incapacitation, and death. (Dosage is a cumulative exposure. It is the concentration of a chemical warfare agent to which an individual is exposed over a specific period of time.)[231] |
Fox Nuclear, Biological, Chemical (NBC) Reconnaissance System | The Fox vehicle is a six-wheeled, light armored vehicle designed primarily for reconnaissance of liquid chemical warfare agent hazards. On-board chemical warfare agent detection capabilities include the MM-1 mobile mass spectrometer, which is the primary detection device, the M43A1 chemical agent detector, which is an integral component of the M8 alarm system, and the M256A1 chemical agent detector kit. The Fox is also equipped with two radiation detectors. The Fox does not provide any biological warfare agent detection capability, but it does protect the crew from biological hazards, and it allows the crew to mark areas of potential hazard and safely take samples for laboratories to analyze for biological hazards.[232] |
GA | A G-series nerve agent known as tabun Chemical name: Ethyl N, N-dimethylphosphoroamidocyanidate[233] |
GB | A G-series nerve agent known
as sarin |
GD | A G-series nerve agent known
as soman |
GF | A G-series nerve agent known
as cyclosarin |
G-series nerve agents | G-series nerve agents are lethal chemical warfare agents that work by inhibiting the proper functioning of the cholinesterase enzymes needed for the transmission of nerve impulses throughout the body. These agents affect the functioning of all bodily systems, including the eyes, nose, throat, lungs, and muscles. The G-series nerve agents include tabun (GA), sarin (GB), soman (GD), and cyclosarin (GF). The normal sequence of symptoms is a running nose, tightness of the chest, dimness of vision and pinpointing of the eye pupils, difficulty breathing, drooling and excessive sweating, nausea, vomiting, cramps, involuntary defecation and urination, twitching, jerking and staggering, headache, confusion, drowsiness, and coma. Cessation of breathing and death follow.[237] |
General Population Limit | General population limit (GPL). The GPL represents the limit at or below which any member of the general population could be exposed (e.g., inhale) seven days a week, every week, for a lifetime, without experiencing any adverse health effects. Since the potential nerve agent exposure releases at Khamisiyah would result in exposures for a brief period, in modeling our potential hazard area we used a short-term exposure limit, recommended by the US Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine, [238] and based on the lifetime GPL. |
Global Positioning System | The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a DoD developed, worldwide, satellite-based radionavigation system that will be the DoDs primary radionavigation system well into the next century. The constellation consists of 24 operational satellites. The US Air Force Space Command formally declared the GPS satellite constellation as having met the requirement for full operational capability as of April 27, 1995.[239] |
GulfLINK | A World Wide Web site maintained by the Office of the Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of Defense for Gulf War Illnesses (www.gulflink.health.mil). |
HD | A blister agent known as distilled mustard Chemical name: Bis-(2-chloroethyl) sulfide[240] |
Intelligence Community | The Intelligence Community comprises the Central Intelligence Agency, Defense Intelligence Agency, Bureau of Intelligence and Research (Department of State), National Security Agency, National Imagery and Mapping Agency, military services intelligence staffs and centers, and several other organizations within the Departments of Defense, Treasury, Justice, and Energy. Intelligence related to military efforts includes information at the strategic, operational, and tactical levels.[241] |
L | A blister agent known as lewisite Chemical name: L: Dichloro-(2-chlorovinyl)arsine[242] |
M256 chemical warfare agent detector kit | In the field, the M256-series chemical warfare agent detector kit is referred to simply as the M256 kit. The M256 kit is a portable, expendable item capable of detecting and identifying hazardous concentrations of blister, blood, and nerve agents. The M256 kit is used after a chemical warfare agent warning to test for and confirm the presence and type of chemical warfare agent, and to determine if it is safe to unmask. The M256A1 kit has replaced the M256 kit. The only difference between the two kits is that the M256A1 kit will detect lower levels of nerve agent. US forces used both the M256 kit and the M256A1 kit were used during the Gulf War. Some smokes, high temperatures, standard US decontamination solution number two (DS2), and petroleum products may cause false readings. Results may be inaccurate when sampling is performed in smoke from burning debris.[243] |
M8A1 chemical alarm | The M8A1 is an automatic chemical agent detection and warning system designed to detect the presence of nerve agent vapors or inhalable aerosols. The M8A1 will automatically signal the presence of the nerve agent in the air with both an audible and visual warning. The US military fielded the M8A1 to replace the wet chemical M8 detectorwhich eliminated the M229 refill kit, the logistic burden, and associated costs. The M8A1 operates in a fixed, portable, or vehicle mounted configuration.[244] |
Mission Oriented Protective Posture (MOPP) | Mission oriented protective posture (MOPP) is a flexible system used to direct the wearing of chemical protective garments and maska system that balances mission requirements with the chemical warfare agent threat. Wearing the chemical protective garments and mask provides individuals protection against most known chemical warfare agents, biological agents, and toxins. At MOPP Level 0 individuals carry their protective mask while their remaining MOPP gear must be readily available (e.g., within the work area, fighting position, living space, etc). At MOPP Level 1, individuals wear their overgarment and carry the rest of their MOPP gear. At MOPP Level 2, individuals wear their overgarment and overboots while carrying the mask with hood and gloves. At MOPP Level 3, individuals wear their overgarment, overboots, and mask with hood, but not the gloves. At MOPP Level 4, individuals wear all their MOPP gear.[245] Commanders can raise or lower the amount of protection through five levels of MOPP. In addition, commanders, under certain situations, can exercise a mask-only option.[246] |
Nerve agents | Nerve agents are the most toxic of the chemical warfare agents. Nerve agents are absorbed into the body through breathing, by injection, or absorption through the skin. They affect the nervous and the respiratory systems and various body functions. They include the G-series and V-series chemical warfare agents.[247] |
Sarin | A nerve agent known as GB Chemical name: Isopropyl methylphosphonofluoridate[248] |
Soman | A nerve agent known as GD Chemical name: Pinacolyl methyl phosphonofluoridate[249] |
Tabun | A nerve agent known as GA Chemical name: Ethyl N, N-dimethylphosphoroamidocyanidate[250] |
VX | V-series
nerve agent Chemical Name: O-ethyl-S-(2-diisopropylaminoethyl)methylphosphonothiolate[251] |
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