The Pentagon’s rising budgets for chemical and biological defense equipment
are proof that the department is serious about countering these threats, said
a senior official.
“There is a need to quell the panic and provide some sense of assurance
to the masses” that defenses are in place, said Anna Johnson- Winegar,
deputy assistant to the Secretary of Defense for chemical and biological defense.
She spoke recently at a National Defense Industrial Association meeting.
In 2004, the Pentagon requested $1.1 billion for chemical and biological defense
equipment, she said. That is a slight drop from the 2003 request, reflecting
a shift of some programs—and their funds—to the Department of Homeland
Security. Thirteen percent, or $145.8 million of the 2004 request, would be
dedicated to medical research toward new vaccines, in collaboration with other
government agencies and institutions, such as the National Institutes of Health,
Johnson-Winegar said.
The largest portion of the request, $441.5 million, would be spent on contamination
avoidance technologies. Johnson-Winegar cited a few key systems that will continue
to be funded during the next five years. Among them is the Joint Bio Standoff
Detector System (JBSDS), to track and identify biological weapons clouds. The
Pentagon also plans to continue purchasing the Joint Biological Point Detection
System (JBPDS), which can detect biological threats from 20 meters away, and
can identify biological weapons agents within 15 minutes after the initial detection,
she said. Initial low-rate production will continue on the Joint Chemical Agent
Detector, a small, lightweight unit that can identify, quantify and warn personnel
of imminent threats.
Individual protection accounts for 12 percent, or $127.4 million of the chem-bio
request. The priorities are masks, overgarments, boots and gloves, she said.
Some chem-bio programs will transfer next year to the Department of Homeland
Security. “In Fiscal Year 2003, Congress provided $420 million to support
Defense Department homeland security support programs. That money is no longer
in the chem-bio defense account,” said Johnson-Winegar. “We continue
to advocate for the programs,” because they are vital to domestic first-responder
agencies, she said. “While it is important to respond to the war fighter,
it is also important to spin off appropriate technologies for civilian use.”