U.S. Army

Chemical Corps

Born from the poison gas clouds of World War I, the Chemical Corps is the Army's defense against the weapons humanity agreed never to use - and keeps using anyway. From mustard gas in the Argonne to MOPP 4 in the Saudi desert to WMD elimination in Iraq, Dragon Soldiers have stood between the force and the worst weapons ever invented. Detect. Identify. Decontaminate. Survive.

"Elementis Regamus Proelium" Est. 1918

EST. JUNE 28, 1918

"Let Us Rule the Battle by Means of the Elements"

Chem · Bio · Rad · Nuc

The Chemical Corps exists because humanity keeps building weapons it shouldn't use - and using them anyway. Born from the poison gas clouds of World War I, the Corps has evolved from offensive chemical warfare to the defense of the entire force against chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats. Dragon Soldiers are the Army's CBRN experts - trained to detect, identify, decontaminate, and survive what no other branch is equipped to handle. Read more

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World War I - The Gas War 1917 - 1918

The Western Front

Chlorine · Phosgene · Mustard

Gas Casualties (All Sides)

Gas Deaths (All Sides)

King of Battle Gases

CWS ESTABLISHED

When American troops arrived in France in 1917, chemical warfare had already killed tens of thousands. Chlorine, phosgene, and mustard gas blanketed the trenches. The Army had no chemical defense capability. The Chemical Warfare Service was established on June 28, 1918 - tasked with both offensive chemical weapons and defense against them. American chemists developed gas masks, decontamination procedures, and chemical munitions in months. The Meuse-Argonne Offensive was fought through gas-saturated terrain. Read more

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World War II - Smoke, Flame & Mortars 1941 - 1945

RHINE · REMAGEN · ANZIO

Smoke Generators

Concealment Operations

Smoke Gen Companies

River Crossings

Bridge Protected

BEACHHEAD SCREENED

Chemical Corps smoke generator companies screened every major river crossing and beachhead in the European Theater. At Remagen, smoke companies concealed the Ludendorff Bridge for days while engineers repaired it and infantry poured across - hiding it from German artillery and Luftwaffe attacks. At Anzio, smoke screened the entire beachhead. The Rhine crossings were made under chemical smoke that blinded German gunners. No gas was used in WWII, but the Chemical Corps fought every day. Read more

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Chemical Mortar Battalions

4.2-Inch Heavy Mortars

Chemical Mortar

Mortar Battalions

High Explosive · WP

OMAHA · UTAH · IWO

The 4.2-inch chemical mortar was designed to deliver chemical munitions but spent the entire war firing high explosive and white phosphorus. Chemical mortar battalions provided heavy indirect fire support at Omaha Beach, Utah Beach, Iwo Jima, and across every theater. The 4.2 was the heaviest mortar in the Army - infantry commanders fought to get chemical mortar companies attached to their units. The Chemical Corps earned its combat reputation with high explosive, not gas. Read more

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Flame Operations

Mechanized Flamethrowers

Crocodile / POA-CWS

Okinawa · Peleliu

Bunkers · Pillboxes

EFFECTIVE RANGE

In the Pacific, Japanese defenders fought from caves, bunkers, and interconnected tunnel systems that conventional weapons couldn't reduce. The Chemical Corps developed mechanized flamethrowers mounted on Sherman tanks - the POA-CWS flame tanks that became the most feared weapon in the island-hopping campaign. At Iwo Jima and Okinawa, flame tanks cleared fortifications that had survived naval bombardment and air strikes. The enemy who wouldn't surrender could still burn. Read more

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DECEMBER 2, 1943

The Bari Disaster

December 2, 1943 - Italy

Harvey · Mustard Gas

Mustard Casualties

KEPT FOR DECADES

On December 2, 1943, German bombers hit the port of Bari, Italy. Among the ships destroyed was SS John Harvey - secretly carrying 2,000 mustard gas bombs as a deterrent stockpile. The mustard mixed with oil on the harbor water. Rescue crews didn't know. Over 628 military and civilian casualties from mustard exposure followed. Eighty-three died. The disaster was classified for decades. LTC Stewart Alexander's investigation of the casualties led directly to the discovery that nitrogen mustard could treat cancer - the birth of chemotherapy. Read more

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Cold War - The Nuclear & Chemical Threat 1945 - 1991

DESERT ROCK · ATOMS

Nuclear Defense

Atomic Battlefield Doctrine

Nuclear · Bio · Chem

Protective Posture

DOCTRINE DEVELOPED

The nuclear age gave the Chemical Corps its most terrifying mission - preparing the Army to fight on an atomic battlefield. The Desert Rock exercises at the Nevada Test Site marched soldiers toward mushroom clouds to test doctrine and equipment. The Corps developed MOPP gear, decontamination procedures, detection systems, and the nuclear defense training that every soldier in the Army would learn for the next fifty years. The Chemical Corps became the Army's shield against annihilation. Read more

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Chemical Stockpile & Treaties

VX · Sarin · Mustard → Destruction

Tons U.S. Stockpile

Chemical Weapons Convention

STOCKPILE DESTROYED

At its peak, the United States maintained approximately 30,000 tons of chemical weapons - nerve agents VX and Sarin, blister agent mustard, and others stored at eight depots across the country. The Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993 committed the U.S. to destroying all of it. The Chemical Corps oversaw the decades-long destruction program. The last American chemical weapon was destroyed in 2023. It took thirty years. The mission the Corps was created for - offensive chemical warfare - officially ended. Read more

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Desert Storm - MOPP 4 1990 - 1991

MOPP 4 · SCUD ALERTS

The Chemical Threat in the Gulf

Saddam's Arsenal

Mustard · Tabun

Full Protective Gear

Alerts · Every Night

NBC RECON VEHICLE

Saddam Hussein had the largest chemical weapons stockpile in the Middle East - and had already used Sarin and mustard gas on Iranian soldiers and Kurdish civilians. Every soldier in the coalition carried a gas mask and MOPP suit. SCUD missile alerts sent hundreds of thousands of troops into full chemical protective gear in the Saudi desert. Chemical Corps units operated Fox NBC reconnaissance vehicles and decontamination stations across the theater. The chemical attack never came. The Chemical Corps was the reason the Army was ready if it had. Read more

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Global War on Terror - WMD Elimination 2001 - 2021

WMD Elimination in Iraq

What They Found

XTF · Exploitation TF

Old Munitions Found

IRAQ SURVEY GROUP

The 75th Exploitation Task Force and the Iraq Survey Group were built around Chemical Corps expertise. While no active WMD production program was found, chemical soldiers discovered over 5,000 degraded chemical munitions from Saddam's pre-1991 stockpile - some of which were used in IEDs against coalition forces. Chemical Corps soldiers provided CBRN reconnaissance, decontamination, and WMD elimination capabilities throughout Iraq and Afghanistan. Read more

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Modern CBRN Threats

Syria · Novichok · Emerging Threats

Sarin · Chlorine Attacks

Nerve Agent · Salisbury

EXPLOSIVE ADDED

The chemical threat didn't end with the Cold War. Syria used Sarin on its own people. Russia used Novichok nerve agent in assassination operations on foreign soil. Non-state actors pursue biological and radiological weapons. The Chemical Corps evolved from CBRN to CBRNE - adding explosive ordnance to the mission set. Dragon Soldiers now train for threats that range from a nation-state nerve agent strike to a dirty bomb in an American city. Read more

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Active Units & Formations Today's Chemical Corps

FORT CAVAZOS, TX

48th Chemical Brigade

Chemical Brigade

Fort Cavazos, TX

Defense · Decon

The 48th Chemical Brigade - the Dragon Brigade - is the Army's premiere CBRN defense formation. Based at Fort Cavazos, the 48th provides chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear defense and decontamination capabilities to Army and joint forces worldwide. The brigade commands multiple chemical battalions and provides the Theater CBRN Response Force capability. Read more

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CONTINUOUS SERVICE

83rd Chemical Battalion

WWII to Present

Chemical Mortar Bn

Vietnam · GWOT

The 83rd Chemical Battalion traces its lineage to WWII chemical mortar battalions that provided heavy fire support across the European Theater. Reorganized through the Cold War, the 83rd has served in Korea, Vietnam, and the Global War on Terror. One of the longest continuously serving chemical units in the Army. Read more

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57 WMD-CSTs NATIONWIDE

CBRN Response Enterprise

WMD-CST · CERFP · Homeland Response

Enhanced Response

Reserve · Active

Every state and territory has a WMD Civil Support Team - 22 full-time National Guard soldiers trained to respond to CBRN incidents on American soil. CERFP teams provide enhanced decontamination and medical capabilities. The Chemical Corps provides the expertise that underpins the entire homeland CBRN response enterprise - the units that would respond first if a chemical, biological, or nuclear weapon is used on American citizens. Read more

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The Gas Chamber Every Soldier's Memory

FORT LEONARD WOOD, MO

CBRN Training & The Gas Chamber

Fort Leonard Wood, MO

Every Soldier · Every Year

Chemical School Home

CBRN Specialist MOS

CONFIDENCE TRAINING

Every soldier in the United States Army has one shared Chemical Corps memory - the gas chamber. CS gas mask confidence training is a rite of passage at every basic training installation. You walk in, seal your mask, break the seal, breathe the CS, and learn to trust your equipment the hard way. The Chemical School at Fort Leonard Wood trains every 74D CBRN Specialist and 74A Chemical Officer. Dragon Soldiers learn their craft where the consequences of failure are measured in casualties. Read more

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106

Years of Service

CBRNE

Defense Mission

57

WMD-CSTs Nationwide

Dragon

Soldiers