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00:08The United States Army presents The Big Picture, an official report produced for the armed forces
00:17and the American people. Now, to show you part of the big picture, here is Sergeant Stuart Queen.
00:28Chemical warfare has come a long, long way since the days of the cavemen, when flame and burning coals were
00:35used to drive off the enemy.
00:38No thinking person looks on this development with any sense of pride, but rather one of reality.
00:46Because today the threat of large-scale chemical, biological and radiological warfare cannot be ignored.
00:55Working up defenses against chemical, biological and radiological warfare is the responsibility of the Army Chemical Corps.
01:04The subject of today's Big Picture.
01:07Our story begins at an airport near the nation's capital, not very long ago.
01:27It was shortly before noon when I arrived at Washington Airport. It had been a quick trip.
01:33Only a few hours before I had left the university campus, and now here I was, ready for the chemical
01:39corps assignment I had been called down to Washington for.
02:01I knew very little about the assignment, except that it was top secret.
02:07Of course, I was aware the Army Chemical Corps works closely with scientists in the industrial
02:12and academic worlds. So I could guess it had something to do with my being a professor of biochemistry.
02:18But beyond that, I would just have to wait and see.
02:31The colonel who met me at the airport said the first order of business would be a meeting with the
02:36chief chemical officer,
02:37then a short orientation survey of some of the key installations before getting down to work.
02:45I was glad to have an orientation because, well, in my mind, I had two questions about the work.
02:57The first question, with modern atomic warfare, was there any real need for this sort of thing?
03:05Were CBR weapons in the same league, so to speak, as the nuclear bomb?
03:11And the second big reservation was the impression I had about this kind of warfare as something cruel
03:16and uncivilized. Was it even morally debased?
03:23Oh, I know war is no tennis match, but I think I echoed the reluctance of most people to face
03:29up
03:29to chemical, biological, and radiological warfare.
03:39Ten minutes later, along with the other special consultants, I met the chief chemical officer,
03:44and the orientation had begun.
03:47Even then, the two questions I had asked myself still gnawed away, insistent, probing, always there.
03:59We were here as consultants, and would do our best, of course.
04:05But I knew myself well enough to feel those questions would have to be answered,
04:09if it were really to be my best.
04:14Well, it didn't take me long to realize that no body of men was more anxious to face up to
04:20those
04:20questions than the Army Chemical Corps and the chief chemical officer, United States Army.
04:26Gentlemen, you've been asked to act as consultants on a project we of the Chemical Corps have developed,
04:33which bears on your specialized scientific and industrial backgrounds.
04:38We regard this as an opportunity to bring to bear a fresh viewpoint,
04:43an independent critical standard on a phase of our operation.
04:46We appreciate your taking time from your busy schedules to serve as consultants for the next few weeks.
04:53Now, I don't have to belabor the point here that the Army's job,
04:57together with the Air Force and Navy, is to maintain the peace and security of the United States.
05:05Our job in the Chemical Corps is to make available one set of tools for this job of maintaining peace.
05:12This set of tools consists of chemical, biological and radiological munitions and defensive equipment.
05:20So that we'll all be thinking along the same lines, that's very brief...
05:24As I listened to the chief chemical officer, I began to have an idea of the military potential summed up
05:30in the letters C-B-R.
05:35In some respects, they are of ancient ancestry.
05:39Primitive flamethrowers were used before 400 B.C. by the Spartans against the Athenians.
05:46The Spartans also melted down pitch and sulfur, so the fumes would be carried downwind to the enemy.
05:53In 1700, Swedish forces set up smoke screens from burning wet straw to cover movements against the Polish Saxon Army.
06:02In the First World War, more than two centuries later,
06:06the Germans were using chlorine gas against a British rifle brigade near Ypres.
06:15In the First World War, more than one-third of the American casualties in World War I were caused by
06:20gas.
06:23However, only 2% of the gas casualties died, compared to a mortality rate of 25% among the non
06:31-gas casualties.
06:34World War II incendiaries played an important role in the German Blitz of London in 1940.
06:45But the devices of the past bear only a token resemblance to the C-B-R implications of today.
06:50The C of C-B-R, chemical warfare, involves the military use of chemical compounds.
07:01Chemical warfare also includes the use of flamethrowers, portable or mounted.
07:11Incendiary materials placed on a target from the air.
07:21The employment of obscuring smokes is another example of chemical warfare.
07:33The B of C-B-R is biological warfare, the deliberate use by man of microorganisms to cause disease among
07:41humans.
07:47To cause disease among animals.
07:53And to cause disease among crop plants.
07:59Radiological warfare, the R of C-B-R, involves the use of radioactive materials on a specific target area.
08:07This includes the fallout from nuclear weapons, a grave problem in the event of a nuclear attack.
08:20The chief chemical officer continued to outline the overall picture of C, B, and R.
08:28Perhaps it was grim stuff to hear.
08:30But then again, what manner of fighting a war is not?
08:35I began to see that it is all very well for some to decry C-B-R warfare.
08:41But the fact remains that C-B-R weapons and tactics are just as much within the capabilities of our
08:47potential enemies
08:48as other modern methods of warfare.
08:51We were shown evidence of their efforts in this field.
08:54Said the Soviet defense minister in 1956 at the Communist Party Congress in Moscow.
09:01Any future war will be characterized by the mass use of air power, various types of rockets,
09:09atomic, thermonuclear, chemical, and biological weapons.
09:14End quote.
09:15The warning is right out in the open for everybody to see.
09:20In the event of war then, C-B-R is just as likely to be used against us as the
09:25nuclear weapons.
09:26The Chemical Corps provides assistance to the Navy, Air Force, and civilian defense authorities.
09:43As the only agency of its kind in government, the Corps must carry out C-B-R research and development.
09:50In addition, the Corps' responsibilities extend over the manufacturing and procurement of C-B-R agents and munitions,
09:57a broad-scaled activity that cannot slacken, because C-B-R advantages are obvious to any potential enemy.
10:06For example, aggressor military leaders know this advantage.
10:10Chemical and biological agents cannot ordinarily be detected by the human sensory organs.
10:16You can't smell anything, taste anything wrong, but the effect can be deadly.
10:24Another C-B-R advantage.
10:27Burrowing into the ground is the normal means of protection against explosive-type munitions,
10:32but the underground fortifications and trenches can be circumvented or penetrated by C-B-R agents.
10:45These agents are usually released in a heavier-than-air aerosol form, which flows over the ground like water, seeking
10:52and hugging the low places.
10:55The user of C-B-R can put a victim out of action for a period, rather than maim or
11:01kill.
11:01But perhaps to an aggressor nation's military leaders, another advantage is paramount.
11:10Unlike other powerful weapons, C-B-R is not a weapon of total destruction.
11:15And destruction for destruction's sake is seldom the purpose of a military attack.
11:20From the viewpoint of the attacker, the rubble is only a bi-part.
11:24The attacker much prefers to occupy an undamaged target and use its productive facilities.
11:32Steel mills and industrial plants are the prizes.
11:36Remember how the Soviet forces were quick to remove industrial machinery from Germany and Manchuria after World War II?
11:43The only applause the aggressor demands is the resurgent hum of captured machinery.
11:54C-B-R weapons can leave the prize virtually undamaged and still inflict enough casualties to win wars.
12:01Without a doubt, then, if it were to their advantage, our enemy might use C-B-R.
12:08There, in a nutshell, is why we can't ignore C-B-R.
12:12The briefing was over.
12:13Now I was ready for a short on-the-spot orientation of work in the field before starting my assignment.
12:27First stop, the Army Chemical Center at Edgewood, Maryland.
12:30Here are employed hundreds of qualified scientists, men and women, in and out of uniform,
12:36with many more of that number of technicians and skilled workers.
12:41From many points of view, Edgewood is the heartbeat of the American chemical warfare effort.
12:50In well-equipped scientific laboratories, highly competent scientists and engineers explore many
12:56important lines of inquiry. Their primary purpose, to cope successfully with chemical warfare.
13:10And coping with chemical warfare means coping with chemical agents, substances employed in chemical
13:16warfare for tactical purposes, as well as the munitions which can disseminate them.
13:23Pilot plants are designed prior to large-scale production of both the agent and the munition.
13:32Hand in hand with development on chemical agents goes the never-ending job of working up
13:38detection and protection devices which indicate the presence of gas in the atmosphere by sounding a
13:45warning loud and clear.
13:56Telling a man agents are in the air is one thing, but he must continue to go on with his
14:01work.
14:02The chemical core has designed a new lightweight canisterless mask, just one of many developments in
14:09individual protection. Many different types of protectors have been developed.
14:22I saw just a few of these special masks, one for military personnel, one for non-combatants,
14:32an infant protector, one for hospital cases, and many others.
14:43At Edgewood that day, I began to gain a sense of how the chemical core does not ignore any
14:49possibility in the defense against potential CBR attack. In one laboratory, I watched a demonstration
14:57of clothes treated to protect the skin against the vapors and spray droplets of blister gases.
15:06The contrasts between clothing which had not been specially impregnated and the chemically treated
15:12clothing was strikingly apparent. Drops that had soaked into the cloth before just rolled off like
15:18water from a duck's back.
15:24Perhaps one overriding truism best describes the work at Edgewood.
15:29To defend against CBR warfare, one must know all about CBR warfare. How, for example, the vital
15:37functions of the body can be affected. In clinical and physiological laboratories, doctors investigate the
15:44effects of chemical warfare agents on the human body and develop medical treatment to counteract these effects.
16:00Yes, to defend against, one must know, and the roads to knowledge are varied. In one laboratory,
16:08I saw a striking experiment of the effects of a certain harmless chemical compound.
16:12A cat's reaction to the presence of a mouse was just about what you'd expect at first, a typical
16:18hunter's instinct.
16:26A harmless chemical agent was introduced. The cat's behavior became temporarily frightened,
16:32defensive, contrary to his normal behavior.
16:44Although the primary purpose of the research at Edgewood is successfully coping with chemical
16:49warfare, peacetime benefits have also come out of the work.
17:03In researching for new chemical agents, intensive studies must be made on how these chemicals affect the human body.
17:12Just as an example, one of the body effects of the nitrogen mustard war gases is a reduction of the
17:18white blood cells.
17:20Why not then use these gases for treatment of cancers, where there is an abnormal increase in white blood cells?
17:27This line of inquiry may prove of value in the treatment of leukemias and certain cancerous growths.
17:35Another example out of many, studies of nerve gas effects have also led to a more effective form
17:41of artificial respiration. In all, more than 300 widely varying contributions of benefits to people
17:48everywhere have been made as a result of chemical core research, much of it at the Army Chemical Center.
17:56Not very far from Edgewood, in historic Frederick, Maryland, are the biological warfare laboratories.
18:05Here, men and women of science are doing basically the same type of work as in other government,
18:10university and industrial laboratories, a combination of medical and public health research.
18:22While I was at Fort Dietrich, I was able to follow partway through an experiment to determine the effectiveness of
18:28an agent.
18:32Volunteers are important to the testing picture. For many years, information has been needed on the effect of a
18:38biological warfare attack on man, so that we can have a better understanding of how to defend ourselves against it.
18:49The volunteers were a picked group. They had received psychiatric interviews to determine their maturity and
18:55reliability, as well as mental outlook.
19:12Medical histories and laboratory checks on the volunteers had been extremely stringent.
19:18Any history of a chronic disease, any allergic reaction or nervous disorder was a cause for rejection.
19:26Volunteers were given the opportunity to drop out, drop out, drop out at any, drop out at any, drop out
19:29at any, drop out at any time.
19:47I wish to watch the progress of the experiment from the control room.
20:05The volunteers have been positioned in cubicles on the outside of the test sphere, a hollow steel ball 40 feet
20:13in diameter,
20:14in which a cloud of biological warfare agent can be generated.
20:20The volunteers have been positioned in cubicles on the outside of the test sphere,
20:20through a series of controllable valves and a face mask.
20:23It was possible to expose a person in each cubicle to a measured volume of biological aerosol from the sphere.
20:33I said before I was able to follow part way through the experiment, the final part.
20:40As was expected, the volunteers were temporarily incapacitated, but within a short time they were up and around completely recovered.
20:48They had the satisfaction of having played an important part in obtaining information,
20:53which would immediately be given to the public health service to bolster our defenses against disease.
21:00Research has led to many scientific findings beneficial to mankind, such as a perfected vaccine for controlling industrial anthrax,
21:09a usually fatal disease of cattle and sheep.
21:13Still another accomplishment, protective devices for the safe handling of disease-causing microorganisms and their harmful products.
21:20Just a few of the many byproducts of biological warfare research.
21:30From Fort Detrick, I went by train to Anniston, Alabama, where Fort McClellan, home of the Chemical Corps Training Command
21:37and school, is located.
21:48I sat in on a few classes.
21:52I noticed, along with Chemical Corps personnel at the school, are representatives of the other services.
22:01There are representatives of public health, civilian defense, and other agencies.
22:08Officers of the military forces of friendly foreign nations are also present.
22:17A heavy emphasis is placed on radiological warfare, along with learning how to deal with the atom in peacetime.
22:24A steady program of laboratory exercises teaches Chemical Corps students the fundamental procedures involved in the handling of radioactive materials.
22:42Calibration exercises train the students in the maintenance of the radiation detection devices they will use in the event of
22:49a nuclear emergency.
22:56At Fort McClellan, the techniques of survey and monitoring are taught to selected non-commissioned officers.
23:03They will return to their units as instructors in these same subjects.
23:31The techniques used were developed by the Chemical Corps during bomb tests in Nevada and the Pacific.
23:38Practice gives the students the background to cope intelligently with any nuclear emergency that may arise in the future.
23:48Students also have the opportunity of monitoring radioactive fallout by ground and air means.
24:00I had one more visit to make before returning to Washington to the large test site of the Corps at
24:06Dugway Proving Ground, Utah.
24:14Here, the Chemical Corps holds field trials to determine the effectiveness of CBR munitions.
24:40The trial runs conducted at Dugway duplicate the actual conditions in the event of emergency.
24:47Sampling devices positioned throughout the test area yield valuable information to Chemical Corps researchers.
25:02Also at Dugway is one of the processing stations for atomic wastes established by the Department of the Army.
25:09Use of the atom has resulted in the accumulation of hazardous radioactive wastes in many areas.
25:14The Chemical Corps collects and processes this waste material and ensures its effective and permanent disposal.
25:35For the safety of everyone, the wastes must be controlled.
25:44Currently, the Army quartermaster is using the hot cell to study new methods of preserving food without the need for
25:51refrigeration.
25:52The cell is a complex installation designed for the remote handling of high-intensity sources of radiation in complete safety.
26:12I sampled beets which had been kept for many months with no refrigeration.
26:16And I'll tell you something, it was very tasty too.
26:26Next morning, I was back in Washington. My orientation finished, ready for work.
26:41Only a few days before I had come here for the first time.
26:45And since then, a lot of doubts had been swept out of my mind.
26:48I was beginning to grasp the mission of the Army Chemical Corps, more important than ever in the era of
26:55the atom.
26:56Something else too.
26:57I realized now, in the context of war with its inevitable cruelties and tragedies,
27:04CBR warfare is not the horror often pictured, if one has a true understanding of it.
27:10In any case, we must be prepared. That's the surest way of never being a target for CBR.
27:17Perhaps you can understand then why, as I stepped into the conference room to start work,
27:22I was determined to give everything I had to the crucially important program of the Army Chemical Corps.
27:37In today's big picture, you saw volunteers, military as well as our now famous cat, Speedy,
27:44participating in the Chemical Corps' testing program.
27:48At no time were they in danger of suffering any permanent injury.
27:52Nor did they, if our cat's recent family addition is any proof.
27:58In the event of an all-out war, chemical, biological and radiological weapons
28:03are just as likely to be used against us as are the nuclear weapons.
28:09Coping with CBR is the responsibility of the Chemical Corps,
28:13and one the Corps is working day and night to meet.
28:16Now, this is Sergeant Stewart Queen, your host for The Big Picture.
28:25The Big Picture is an official report for the Armed Forces and the American people.
28:33Produced by the Army Pictorial Center.
28:40Presented by the Department of the Army, in cooperation with this station.
28:44The Second Safety on the Army
28:48.
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