Warfighter protection

Efforts in this area include protective clothing, protective masks, air purification, and shelters. The effective level of protection and the capabilities of the fielded equipment will increasingly depend on the transition of new materials and processing concepts to manufacturing. Successful utilization of nanoscale materials technology is expected to result in a significant improvement in warfighter protection over that provided today. A number of scenarios in the four worlds of 2030 are shown in Fig. 3.1. 

Reduced Maintenance (halt nanoscale failure initiation) BioNanotechnology - Warfighter Protection... 

Individual protection must provide protection from an ever-changing threat scenario, while maximizing the effectiveness of the individual warfighter. Chemical and biological threats are physically transmitted to the warfighter as aerosols, vapors, and liquids, or through direct contact with such contaminated materials as... 

The emerging technical advances in nanotechnology may provide opportunities to provide physical protection and enhance performance of warfighters. Current research is aimed at advanced materials and coatings that will provide protection from both ballistic threats and CB threats. The goal is a standard uniform capable... 

Red-teaming analyses highlight several approaches to violating the protective seal provided by the 2030 uniform. For example, today s warfighters have discovered that fine sand can get through even the best seals, and nanoscale particles can only be more invasive. A future suit would need the ability to seal itself from nanoscale threats without compromising other characteristics. 

Effective materials to protect buildings, tents, vehicles, and warfighters... 

To protect the warfighter from current and potential future super-toxins, the threats should be described with as much technical precision as possible. Future threats may include more sophisticated CB weapons but also entities such as prions (as weaponized proteins) or toxic nanoparticles. 

Walsh, S. M., Scott, B. R., Jones, T. L., Cho, K., Wolbert, J. A Materials Approach In The Development Of Multi-Threat Warfighter Head Protection , Proceedings of the 26th Army Science Conference held in Orlando, Florida on 1 December 2008. 

Collective protection systems development involves some additional considerations compared to personnel individual protection. New material formulations have to be incorporated into prototypes of improved collective protection systems (e.g., shelters) by teams of experienced materials scientists and engineers. Shelter materials must have structural strength as well as agent protection properties. Skillful prototype development and extensive and realistic testing is critical to achieving improved collective CB protection systems. These systems directly impact warfighter survivability in both base and forward environments. 

Identification of critical targets for the development of new vaccines, antibiotics, diagnostics, and other pharmaceuticals are required for the development of countermeasures to protect the warfighter. Continued target identification for new and existing DoD relevant biothreats will be critical for development of new innovative countermeasure drugs, vaccines and potentially new therapeutic platforms. 

Earlier we discussed how physiology was important to study the impact of chemical and biological protection on the physical ability of the warfighter to function in protective gear. Similarly, behavioral analysis is important to understand the mental state of those required to perform their missions under the added mental and physical stress of an impending or actual chemical or biological attack. 

The challenges to DoD in the realm of chemical and biological defense are complex. The Department has responsibilities that span the missions of protecting the warfighter, providing support to the warfighter, defending the United States from attack (i.e., Homeland Defense), and... 

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