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Non-Traditional Threat Overview

A significant lesson learned from the Gulf War is that the Department of Defense is not well structured to deal with the non-traditional issues occurring after every deployment. The Gulf War experience revealed significant shortcomings in our understanding of modern war health stressors. For instance, the Gulf War highlighted the need for an increased focus on chemical doctrine and on improving the design of chemical agent detection equipment. The number of false alarms during Operation Desert Storm created confusion regarding the capabilities and limitations of detection equipment. Properly training military personnel in the use of chemical detection equipment, and about safety precautions for depleted uranium, pesticides, and other chemical hazards are issues that became problematic during the Gulf War and will eventually confront future deployments.