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Indian Army Prepares for WMD Attacks
The Indian army has organized teams of specialists ready to respond to attacks involving biological, chemical or nuclear weapons, the Calcutta Telegraph reported yesterday (see GSN, Aug. 1). There are two potential scenarios considered for an attack against New Delhi — deployment of a weapon of mass destruction from land or air against the city or a strike against a nuclear facility that would release nuclear radiation into the capital. The threat to the city is believed to be high, the Telegraph reported. “Protocols have been evolved for prompt and effective NBC [nuclear-biological-chemical] casualty management,” a panel of lawmakers said in a report to Parliament. These include creating a quick reaction medical team in each of the six army commands, and one for New Delhi. The committee also called on medical services in the Indian armed forces to “relook into our special preparedness and take all steps” for preparing for a WMD incident. Military personnel located in forward areas have individual protective gear, according to the Indian Defense Ministry. Some have been “trained in mitigation techniques, decontamination drills and NBC operation bricks and platoon bricks have been designed and issued,” the ministry told Parliament. Special battalions equipped with protective gear have trained regularly over the last four years, the Telegraph reported. The Armed Forces Institute of Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection in Delhi is also in operation, the ministry said. The institute was asked to train all air force personnel, in addition to training medical and paramedical staff to treat casualties from a WMD incident (The Telegraph, Aug. 3).
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