Section V. COMBAT OPERATIONAL STRESS CONTROL
5-20. General
When operating under the threat of or under actual NBC conditions, soldiers will be at a high risk of suffering combat operational stress-related conditions. The invisible, pervasive nature of these weapons creates a higher degree of uncertainty and ambiguity, presenting fertile opportunities for false alarms, mass panic, and other maladaptive stress reactions. Therefore, commanders and leaders must take actions to prevent and reduce the numbers of combat operational stress cases in this environment. The symptoms and physical signs caused by excessive stress are similar to some signs of true NBC agent injury. In World War I, inexperienced units initially evacuated two stress cases for every one true chemical casualty. Some minor chemical casualties also had major stress symptoms. Therefore, far forward triage is essential to prevent over evacuation and loss of the individual to the unit. For details on provision of COSC see FM 8-51 and FM 22-51.
5-21. Leadership Actions
a. Keep Personnel Informed of the Situation. Keep information flowing, dispel myths, and control rumors by—
- Discussing the situation and its possible long-term implications honestly.
- Maintaining the perspective that the best chance for mission accomplishment is assured when the unit and the Army stays mission focused.
b. Train Soldiers to Survive. Use training procedures that—
- Tell the lessons of history on NBC weapons employment. Show that the enemy's use of NBC weapons/agents will not give him enough advantage to justify the risk to his forces.
- Increase the chance of surviving and winning should the enemy use NBC weapons/agents.
- Emphasize the buddy system as a means of keeping watch for each other. Personnel must always seek buddy aid before taking additional antidotes. This will reduce the numbers of individuals using their antidotes when not needed; and prevent the increased heat stress caused by the effects of atropine on the body's cooling capabilities.
c. Put Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Defense in Realistic Perspective. Continuously strive to maintain a realistic perspective in the unit by—
- Comparing the risks of the threat with the increased risk of facing the conventional threat in varying levels of MOPP. The decision to initiate a MOPP level should be like deciding how much cover is needed to protect a unit from conventional weapons.
- Choosing the lowest MOPP level that protects the unit, yet permits accomplishment of the mission. Do not try to be 100 percent safe from chemical attack if it means that there is—