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NOVEMBER 30, 09:01 EST

Focus Is On Long-Term Troop Hazards

By DAVID BRISCOE

Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Preventing casualties in modern war may be toughest not on

the battlefield but in the aftermath, and focusing on the danger of

traditional weapons could mask less-obvious, long-term hazards to troops,

according to a series of Pentagon-ordered reports released today.

Scientists trying to find ways to protect U.S. forces from the unseen dangers

of war, such as the still mysterious Gulf War illnesses, outlined a complex

strategy for assessing risks, protecting and decontaminating troops and

improving medical surveillance and record-keeping.

Three reports financed by the Pentagon and conducted by government-affiliated

researchers and scientists also recommended that the military set clear

guidelines on how much to tell soldiers, their families and others about the

risks soldiers face.

One report said the military needed a cultural change ``from the top'' in

communicating risk to those involved and bluntly recommended: ``Decide what

information people need to know and when they need to know it.''

``Even in the absence of widespread acute casualties from battle, war takes

its toll on human health and well-being long after the shooting or bombing

stops,'' said one of the reports prepared by the National Academy of

Sciences' Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council.

A fourth report assessing the military's methods for detecting exposure to

potentially harmful agents is due later this year. Each of the new reports

includes more than 100 pages of analysis and recommendations.

The report on medical surveillance said ``uncertainty and questions remain''

about illnesses reported by a large percentage of the 697,000 service members

deployed during the 1991 Gulf War. It also draws lessons from deployments in

Haiti, Somalia, Bosnia, Southwest Asia and Kosovo.

``Although military preventive medicine programs have developed reasonably

effective countermeasures against many of the discrete diseases and

non-battle injury hazards of deployment, they have not yet systematically

addressed the medically unexplained symptoms seen not only after the Gulf War

but also after major conflicts dating back at least to the Civil War,'' the

report said.

The report proposed improved collection of medical data on soldiers, both

before and after they enter into conflict, including details on any important

environmental and other exposure during the deployment.

The new reports offered some criticism of past Pentagon strategies for

protecting troops, citing a natural tendency to focus attention on known

hazardous agents and saying that ``too much attention on them may result in

other hazards being overlooked.''

Among risks that need to be recognized beyond traditional weaponry are newly

developed biological and chemical threats, infectious diseases, toxic agents,

and psychological and physical stress, the report on assessing risk said.

In the area of military equipment used to protect against contamination, one

report said detection technologies must be improved to allow troops the time

to protect themselves.

``When all components of a protective suit are worn, including a mask, troop

ability to meet mission objectives can be significantly reduced because of

the physical stresses imposed by the gear,'' said the report.

Research is needed to develop lighter-weight protections, and more training

is needed for commanders to assess how much protective gear is really needed

when troops are under attack, it said.

Much of the military's protective gear is inadequate, the report said.

Current protective gear cannot be used with night-vision goggles, for

example.

``These garments are also still vulnerable to leaks; suits or other

technologies must be developed that minimize this vulnerability, especially

at seals and closures,'' the report said.