The Gulf War has been the only conflict in the last half century that featured the possible use of chemical biological weapons systems against U S forces Vulnerability to such an attack spurred the Department of Defense to action from the first hint of trouble in August 1990 through the end of hostilities in March 1991 Nearly disbanded in 1972 the U S Army Chemical Corps would be the prime force in ensuring that U S forces could both survive and sustain combat operations under chemical biological warfare conditions Focussing on the work of senior Army officials this account assesses the degree of readiness achieved by the ground war s initiation and the lessons learned since the conflict