With regards to indoctrination of the force, the mid-90s heavy force pretty much lived in MOPP 1 or 2 while in the field for major training events and always included periods in mask. In 2ID it was a given that mask and MOPP gear were part of most field uniforms, and there was an expectation to fight in a chemical environment from the start. Stateside, my first NTC rotation was done almost exclusively in MOPP. The light community tended to go more with BDUs and mask carrier unless it was required to be in a higher MOPP posture.
To opine on what would realistically be left, the JSLIST were good for (I think) 120 days without laundering days and 45 days with laundering and the CPOGS were good for 14 days. I never saw a JSLIST get laundered, but I can back up Higgipedia that they got pretty ripe pretty quick, even if all you wore underneath was ranger panties and a t shirt! I’m sure there’s a ton of NBC gear in stockpiles, but by 2000 those stockpiles are going to be depleted, incinerated, or difficult to distribute from without fuel. I agree soldiers are going to try to get rid of as much extra weight as possible, but I think they’d hold on to the chem gear as long as they perceived an NBC threat or as long as discipline in the unit held. The actual NBC threat may well be governed by declining stockpile availability.
While there are some field expedients for protective gear (a simple filter can be devised, and a poncho can provide some protection against liquid agent), stocks of NBC gear would likely become a theater managed item, like fuel, MREs, replacement combat vehicles, or specialty ammunition. Maybe one of the indicators that 5ID has something big in the future is the issue of extra chemical warfare gear to the unit in its cantonments during spring of 2000.
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