Air Force Scientist and Engineer Roles in Combating Weapons of Mass Destruction

The threat of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) is a real threat to the United States homeland, its deployed forces, and its allies. To protect the Nation and its allies, the Department of Defense (DoD) and the U.S. Air Force (USAF) must develop and resource a strategy to combat this threat. However...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Miller, Rodney L
Format: Report
Language:English
Subjects:
AFIT(AIR FORCE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY)
AIR FORCE NATIONAL LABORATORIES TECHNICAL FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM
AIR FORCE PERSONNEL
AIR FORCE RESEARCH
BIOLOGICAL WARFARE
CBRN(CHEMICAL BIOLOGICAL RADIOLOGICAL NUCLEAR)
CHEMICAL WARFARE
Chemical, Biological and Radiological Warfare
CIVILIAN PERSONNEL
COUNTERMEASURES
DEFENSE NUCLEAR WEAPONS SCHOOL
EDUCATION
ENGINEERS
EXPERTISE
EXPERTS
JOINT DOCTRINE
MANPOWER
MASS DESTRUCTION WEAPONS
MILITARY DOCTRINE
Military Forces and Organizations
Nuclear Warfare
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
PERSONNEL DEVELOPMENT
Personnel Management and Labor Relations
PERSONNEL NEEDS
POST COLD WAR ERA
RADIOLOGICAL WARFARE
REQUIREMENTS
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
SCIENTISTS
THREATS
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Description
Summary:The threat of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) is a real threat to the United States homeland, its deployed forces, and its allies. To protect the Nation and its allies, the Department of Defense (DoD) and the U.S. Air Force (USAF) must develop and resource a strategy to combat this threat. However, several high-level reports have concluded that DoD and the USAF lack sufficient expertise in this area. Historically, the USAF developed and retained a cadre of scientists and engineers (S&Es) to support the Nation's nuclear deterrence and counterproliferation missions. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the scope and need for continuation and enhancement of these capabilities in the post-Cold War/post-9-11 environments. The term CBRN S&E is used throughout this paper to describe a scientist or engineer with expertise and experience directly relevant to the technical development, detection, protection against, or effects assessment of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons or weapons that produce similar effects (such as electromagnetic pulse EMP generators). Chapter 1 defines the unique attributes of CBRN S&Es and the military challenge of the CBRN threat. Chapter 2 presents current doctrine and strategic direction necessitating the need for CBRN expertise in the S&E corps and briefly discusses where CBRN S&E personnel currently perform their missions. In Chapter 3, the author discusses the institutional aspects of maintaining and growing the CBRN S&E workforce, including education and training, leadership development, and personnel policies. Finally, Chapter 4 concludes with a summary of the paper and recommendations.