Army Chemical Review presents professional information about Chemical Corps functions related to chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, smoke, flame, and civil support operations.
Issue link: https://chemical.epubxp.com/i/141522
of AMedP-06, AMedP-07, and AMedP-08 and now engages in a broad array of biodefense-related issues ranging from the burial needs of potentially infectious decedents to the protective mechanisms necessary for the safe aeromedical evacuation of biological casualties. One of the premier responsibilities of the BioMedAC is the tackling of the "dirty dozen"—a term derived from early editions of the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases "Blue Book"2 and used to refer to a validated, nonclassifed list of a dozen potential biological threat agents around which medical and nonmedical countermeasures are planned. As new agents are discovered and new threats emerge, the threat list must continually be reassessed. And the BioMedAC—which is composed of clinicians, pharmacists, microbiologists, public health offcers, and other biomedical science experts—is well suited to such ongoing reassessment. U.S. representatives proposed a program of assessment and prioritization during the ffth meeting of the BioMedAC, which was held in Oslo, Norway, in 2000. The subsequent BioMedAC work in this regard has led to periodic updates of the threat list and an ongoing reappraisal of the biological sections of AMedP-06. Moreover, the work of the BioMedAC helps form the doctrinal framework that is used to update the medical response training provided to clinicians. StandardizationAgreements One of the principal products of the CBRNMedWG and the BioMedAC is the standardization agreement (STANAG)—the mechanism by which NATO nations agree upon common standards as they apply to doctrine, tactics, procedures, or equipment. In the modern era of combined operations, such common standards are an imperative. NATO philosophy is built upon the realization that "Combined operations, reinforced by nonNATO nations, are not effcient without common standards."3 Each STANAG has a "custodian"—a nation whose delegates serve as the lead authors of the agreement and who shepherd the agreement through a series of study drafts and ratifcation drafts to ultimate ratifcation and adoption as NATO doctrine. Certain STANAGs are "owned" by the CBRNMedWG or the BioMedAC; these entities are responsible for overseeing the crafting and updating of those agreements. Other STANAGs are "of interest" to the CBRNMedWG and the BioMedAC— in which case, the organizations monitor the progress of the agreements and may provide subject matter expertise to other NATO bodies who "own" the documents. At its inception in 1973, the NBC Medical Working Party became responsible for STANAG 2358, Training in First Aid in Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Operations (AMedP-47, First Aid and Hygiene Training in a CBRN or TIH Environment) and for STANAG 2500 (which later became STANAG 2461 [Volume I], STANAG 2462 [Volume II], and STANAG 2463 [Volume III], NATO Handbook on the Medical Aspects of NBC Defensive Operations [AMedP-06]). From that humble beginning, the oversight responsibilities of the CBRNMedWG and BioMedAC have grown signifcantly (see Table 1 and Tables 2 and 3, page 8). In some cases, these STANAGs Table 1. STANAGs for which the CBRNMedWG is responsible Summer 2013 7