The U.S. Chemical Corps

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After the early German Employment of gas warfare for the duration of WWI at Ypres in Belgium on 22 April 1915, technological and physiological research in gas warfare was conducted in Britain by exceptional scientists called Fritz Haber, who was the reponsable for the development of poison gases for Germany during World War I, also hee was the responsabible for developing the crucial process for extractingnitrates from the atmosphere. In the United States the war department by the fall of 1915 began to show an interest in providing troops with protection against gas and assigned responsibility for the design and development of respirators to the Medical department which resulted in the rapid development of protective equipment and the subsequent development of offensive equipment; this accumulation of valuable experience was later at the disposal of the united states.

The Chemical Section was created to fill the demand of General Pershing repeated 5 times between 26 September and 9 December 1918, General Pershing asked for a Chemical laboratory, complete with equipment and personnel to examine gases and powders then the War Department General order number 62, dated on 28 June 1918 provided implementation of an executive order for establishment of this separate technical service with full responsibility to carry out investigation, research development and production of protective equipment and to furnish U.S arsenals with a family of toxic agents capable of effective employment in warfare.

The 30th Engineer Gas and flame company became the first combat unit of the chemical warfare service it was reflag in the AEF (France). When the 30th engineers, Gas and Flame, was transferred to the Chemical Warfare Service was redesigned as ...

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...e mid-1980s. Between 1979 and 1989 the Army established 28 active duty chemical defense companies.

Works Cited

Kim Coleman, Kim Collection, Palgrave McMillan, (2005) A History of Chemical Warfare
The First World War, 2(1) 11-23
Brophy And Fisher, U.S. Army in World War II (1989) The Chemical Warfare Service:
Organizing for War, The Years between the Wars, The Chemical warfare service,
National Army. II (1) 18-43, 393-400
Frank C. Conahan, Report to congressional requesters, (1991) Chemical Warfare, Soldiers
Inadequately Equipped and Trained to Conduct Chemical Operations,
Steven L. Hoenic Handbook of Chemical Warfare and Terrorism (2002) Introduction:
Brief History of Chemical Agents 1 (1) 3-22
The Core History segment of instruction (2006) CML DVD 143
National Museum United States Army web site https://armyhistory.org/09/the-u-s-army-chemical-corps/

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