It’s purpose is to instill confidence. The chemical defense training facility at Fort Leonard Wood in South Central Missouri takes military and certain US government civilians and teaches them how to use their chemical defense suits. Part of the training includes exposing the fully suited people to actual VX and sarin nerve agents – just a drop the size of a pinhead would kill a person in a matter of minutes. This is supposed to build the trainees confidence they could survive a deadly chemical attack. Staff Sergeant Sean Chernis who now trains other people says a similar facility that preceeded the one at Fort Wood gave him confidence. He says a dozen years ago, he was just a lowly private teaching soldiers much higher ranking than him during Desert Shield and Desert Storm how to use their protective gear. A group of Fort Wood soldiers have recently prepared for a possible attack as they await orders that could send them to the Persian Gulf in coming weeks.
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