2.
Corps and Echelons Above Corps.
a. Units in the rear areas of the corps and theater are prime targets for an NBC attack. The
nature of rear area units and the characteristics of attacks upon them point to dependence upon thorough
decontamination operations in rear areas.
Fixed facilities that cannot be hidden (such as airports, ports, and supply points) could be the target for
NBC attacks. Contamination may be unavoidable. When this situation occurs, operational
decontamination may not be practical. Thorough decontamination may be required. There are two
reasons for selecting thorough decontamination as the best course of action: To prevent a transfer hazard
and the necessity for a shirt-sleeve environment.
When support units' personnel, materiel, or equipment are contaminated, they are much less useful, and
could even endanger the uncontaminated units they support. A support unit that forwards contaminated
supplies to a receiving unit spreads contamination. A support unit should be decontaminated thoroughly
enough to stop the spread of contamination. This will require thorough decontamination.
Some units, such as headquarters, medical units, and communications centers, require a shirt-sleeve
environment in order to operate. These service units may find it worthwhile to use operational
decontamination for temporary relief from MOPP, but it will not improve their performance. For
example, a signal unit would likely not be able to adequately complete their repairs if in MOPP 4.
Operational decontamination would not get this unit out of MOPP 4. It would therefore be much better
to commence thorough decontamination as soon as possible.
b. Many rear area units will not have regularly assigned PDDE. This shortage of equipment
demands centralized management. A small unit that needs more support must get it from the corps
chemical companies. Some small units may depend entirely on support from corps.
The chemical staff for a corps, or support command or Theater Army Area Command (TAACOM) must
assess the available decon assets and develop a management plan. Assets probably will be concentrated
in two forms: Mobile teams and permanent or semipermanent decontamination sites. (See FM 3-101 for
further guidance on Managing the decon assets on the battlefield.)
3.
Mobile Teams.
The corps chemical staff may designate mobile teams that can support operational and thorough
decontamination. These will
CM 2506
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