The Chemical Warfare Service
The lessons learned from the involvement of the United States in World War I would identify the need for a military organization that specialized in Chemical Warfare. The use of chemical weapons was one of the most deadly and effective tactics experienced by both sides during the trench-style warfare. Due to the concern that the chemical weapon strategies of the First World War would continue on in future armed conflicts, the United States Army created the Gas Service Section, whose members would be special trained in the practices of chemical weapon employment. The Gas Service Section would eventually become the Chemical Warfare Service, consolidating the sorted functions relating to chemical weapon offense …show more content…
However, the CWS would also volunteer its staff and facilities to assist civilian organizations in conducting special scientific studies. These projects included; Rat Extermination (1921), War Gases as Insecticides (1922), Apparatus for Toxicological Experiments (1922), Extermination of Locusts (1923), Ex-termination of Field Rats (1923), co-operative project with the Biological Survey (1923), Marine Piling Investigation (1923), and Boll Weevil Investigations (1920-27). Funding for these projects was provided by Congress or some agency of the government since the Chemical Warfare Service could not provide funds to underwrite extracurricular endeavors (Brophy, Cochrane, & Miles, …show more content…
The First World War proved how effective and deadly chemical weapon implementation could be, which prompted the major militaries of the time to create specific sections trained in this type of warfare. The United States Military created the Gas Service Section which, at the war’s conclusion would become the Chemical Warfare Service. The Chemical Warfare Service’s primary purpose was to produce and conduct research on offensive and defensive implements of chemical warfare, but it also assisted non-military organizations in special projects. In August of 1962 the Chemical Warfare Service transitioned into the U.S. Army Chemical Corps, which continues to fulfill the role of a branch that specializes in chemical, as well as biological, radiological, and nuclear
The lessons learned from the involvement of the United States in World War I would identify the need for a military organization that specialized in Chemical Warfare. The use of chemical weapons was one of the most deadly and effective tactics experienced by both sides during the trench-style warfare. Due to the concern that the chemical weapon strategies of the First World War would continue on in future armed conflicts, the United States Army created the Gas Service Section, whose members would be special trained in the practices of chemical weapon employment. The Gas Service Section would eventually become the Chemical Warfare Service, consolidating the sorted functions relating to chemical weapon offense …show more content…
However, the CWS would also volunteer its staff and facilities to assist civilian organizations in conducting special scientific studies. These projects included; Rat Extermination (1921), War Gases as Insecticides (1922), Apparatus for Toxicological Experiments (1922), Extermination of Locusts (1923), Ex-termination of Field Rats (1923), co-operative project with the Biological Survey (1923), Marine Piling Investigation (1923), and Boll Weevil Investigations (1920-27). Funding for these projects was provided by Congress or some agency of the government since the Chemical Warfare Service could not provide funds to underwrite extracurricular endeavors (Brophy, Cochrane, & Miles, …show more content…
The First World War proved how effective and deadly chemical weapon implementation could be, which prompted the major militaries of the time to create specific sections trained in this type of warfare. The United States Military created the Gas Service Section which, at the war’s conclusion would become the Chemical Warfare Service. The Chemical Warfare Service’s primary purpose was to produce and conduct research on offensive and defensive implements of chemical warfare, but it also assisted non-military organizations in special projects. In August of 1962 the Chemical Warfare Service transitioned into the U.S. Army Chemical Corps, which continues to fulfill the role of a branch that specializes in chemical, as well as biological, radiological, and nuclear