Since the days of World War I trenches, men and women of the Chemical Corps have honorably served the needs of America’s Army. On the battlefield and off, courageous CBRN Soldiers have had an essential role in preserving our country’s freedom. As a Dragon Soldier it is important to know the history of the Corps (U.S. Army Chemical School, n.d.). Most of the Soldier’s in the Army think that Chemical Soldier’s are the ones you see that one time of the year for mandatory training; such as round robin type training or the CBRN gas chamber. However, as the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq started there was a need for Soldier’s that had a certain mind-set. Those that could and would do things that were necessary at the time of war that other regular Soldier’s would not or could not do. Those types of Soldier’s are typically suited for life in U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC). This paper is a brief history of The Chemical Corps, USASOC/Delta Force, and a Chemical Soldier who gave the ultimate sacrifice, SFC Mickey E. Zaun.
In order to give the reader a sense of the role of the Chemical Corps in the U.S. Army it is paramount to give a brief history of the Chemical Corps. The Chemical Corps came to fruition during World War I, at the behest of General John Pershing because of the Germans use of chemical agents. However, during a period in the 1970’s the Chemical Corps was very close to being terminated. In 1973 the Army decided it did not need the Chemical Corps and recommended reducing it in size and eventually wanted to merge it with the Ordnance Corps (Hilmas, Smart, & Hill, n.d.). The Army disestablished the chemical school at FT. McClellan, but Congress blocked the complete disestablishment of the Chemical Corps (Hilmas, Sm...
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...rieved May 20, 2014, from chemicaldragon.com: http://chemicaldragon.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/index.85161805.htm
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Hilmas, C., Smart, J., & Hill, B. (n.d.). Chapter 2 HISTORY OF CHEMICAL WARFARE. Retrieved May 20, 2014, from www.hsdl.org: https://www.hsdl.org/?view&did=19099
U.S. Army Chemical School. (n.d.). History of the Chemical Corps (Essay). Retrieved May 18, 2014, from cbrn.wood.army.mi: https://cbrn.wood.army.mil/bbcswebdav/pid-47873-dt-content-rid-173075_1/courses/031_494-74D40-C46_CBRN_SLC_Phase_1_2014_000_01_N/031-SLA05%20History%20of%20Chem%20Corps%20%28essay%29%281%29.pdf
USASOC PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE. (n.d.). Retrieved May 19, 2014, from www.soc.mil: http://www.soc.mil/Memorial%20Wall/Bios/Zaun_Mickey.pdf
Introduction. Common Attributes of military leaders are just that, common. The accomplished Generals, Colonels and Majors that contributed to the most successful wars of our country have been molded a certain way. They are molded through vigorous training both in scholastic training and in the field along with rigorous mentorship. Colonel Lewis McBride was a rare exception to the rule. As a renowned Chemical museum curator so distinctively puts it, he was, without a doubt, one of the most interesting and industrious officers in the history of the US Army Chemical Corps.
A month after graduating from high school in June of 1940, young Othal T. Parsons joined the army to "serve my country, beat the draft, and become a bigshot." He was lured by the Army recruiting posters clarioning "I WANT YOU." Parsons worked his way up through four different armored divisions as an enlisted man until he became Second Lieutenant Othal T. Parsons, Mortar Pla...
Trueman, Chris. "Chemical Warfare and World War Two." Chemical Warfare and World War Two. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2013. .
Weigley, Russel F. History of the United States Army. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1st Edition, 1984.
Brown, Jerold E. Historical Dictionary Of The U.S. Army. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 2001. eBook Academic Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 29 Jan. 2014.
History has proven the use of chemical weapons ranging back for decades. From the Greeks in ancient Europe using Greek fire to South American tribes using a form of tear gas made of grounded up hot chili peppers to scare away enemy tribes. As well as dipping the tips of spear heads with a poisonous toxin. Poisonous toxins used from live reptiles like frogs and venom from the snakes found from whichever region had enough potency venom to exterminate. The past has proven, that in order for Armies to survive and win, it relied on out smarting the enemy. New technologies and the evolution of weaponry were left to the brightest minds from those eras to develop.
HQ, Department of the Army. (2014). Army Techniques Publication 3-11.24: TECHNICAL CHEMICAL, BIOLOGICAL, RADIOLOGICAL, NUCLEAR, AND EXPLOSIVES FORCE EMPLOYMENT. Washington, DC: HQ, Department of the Army.
From the creation of the Army’s Technical Escort Unit, there has always been one mission that has never changed; the removal, transportation and disposal of chemical weapons. “The U.S. Army Technical Escort Unit was formed in 1944 and is the longest, continuously active, military chemical unit in existence... The unit was formed as a group of specialist to escort chemical weapons”(Cashman, 2000, p. 104). Although this mission type has not faded, the overall mission of these units has expanded to a larger arena.
Weapons manufactured at Rocky Mountain Arsenal included both conventional and chemical munitions, including White Phosphorus (M34 grenade), Napalm, Mustard Gas, Lewisite, and Chlorine Gas. Rocky Mountain Ars...
- - -, dir. “Air Force Special Operations Command.” The Official Web Site of the United Stated Air Force. U.S. Air Force, 20 Sept. 2011. Web. 9 Feb. 2012. .
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FM 4-02.285, Multiservice Tactics, Techniques and Procedures for Treatment of Chemical Agent Casualties and Conventional Military Chemical Injuries (2007, CDC Emergency Preparedness and Response, (2003, April 3). This page includes links September 18), Headquarters, Department of the Army
The Army Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear Survey Teams find out information on an enemy target in order to defend the country against the threat of CBRN weapons and Weapons of Mass Destruction. The Army has drastically evolved in terms of the Chemical Corp. Today there are multiple units around the world that operate in Survey Teams. The two most popular units in the Chemical Corp are Technical Escort Units and Chemical Reconnaissance Detachments. There is much confusion about what the operations of these two units entail. This research paper will describe what they do as well as discuss the similarities and differences between the two.
The impact of the war was soon to leave a mark in history. The use of chemical weapons adversel...