The impact of chemical protective clothing on military operational performance

Wearing chemical protective clothing (CPC) while conducting military operations limits a soldier's dexterity, mobility, command and control, communications, and endurance. A series of field studies was conducted to identify mission degradations from the protective clothing on the chemically contaminated battlefield. The studies differed in complexity but had a common goal of comparing task performance and endurance of soldiers wearing the full protective ensemble versus wearing the standard military field uniform. This article summarizes 3 U.S. Army programs. One of them is called the Physiological and Psychological Effects of the NBC Environment and Sustained Operations on Systems in Combat. A review of 19 studies concerning combat, combat support, and combat service support systems shows that most military tasks can be performed satisfactorily while CPC is worn, but usually, extra time is required to perform such tasks. Higher ambient temperatures and high workloads are especially detrimental to endurance. Realistic training in the ensemble is deemed essential for sustaining performance on the chemically contaminated battlefield.