Dec. 1, 2002 - Memo from Doug Rokke to NBC News Station

Greetings:

NBC evening news just ran a story on the 5:30 evening news
regarding the defective gas masks and MOPP suits that our military personnel
require to protect them from chemical, biological, and radiological agent
exposures.

I was the Army officer who ran the tests on the gas masks and
verified that they leak when used while moving your head. The GAO who I have
worked with on these defects reported this many times (most recently GAO
03-137T October 1, 2002 - you can obtain report at www.gao.gov).

General McCafferty lied on TV during teh NBC evening news when he said that the
problems were / are fixed. Congressman Tim Johnson and his staff have been
working with me and others to correct this serious problem that has already
cost so many their lives and health because the defective equipment was used
during Gulf War I and since then (please see attached report). Congressman
Johnson's staff, Matthew Bisbee and I tested the equipment in his office here
in Champaign and verified that it fails. I have also worked with 3M without
success. Army officials do not care as they have deployed and continue to
deploy troops with defective equipment.

On Monday we can obtain a gas mask and show on camera how it fails to end this nonsense
before more of nation's finest get exposed because the equipment is defective. Congressman
Chris Shays (Conn.) also was featured along with Congresswoman Jan Schawskowsky
(Illinois) as they called for correcting the problems.

Please call me and also call Matthew Bisbee or Eric Woehrman, who have been working on this
with me, so we can do what we can to protective our nation's heroes. I believe that you are
already aware of this serious problem as I have sent previous emails to you on this.
thank you,
dr. doug rokke
major, USAR

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some supporting information follows:

The members of A Company 2nd Battalion, 130th Infantry, 66th Brigade and many
other soldiers are being deployed with one piece of defective equipment - the
M40 protective mask. One of the primary threats to our soldiers is WMD-E /
NBC-E agents. Consequently they must have an operational / safe "gas" mask
- actually called an M40 Protective Mask.

While assigned to the U.S. Chemical School from 1994- 1997, I conducted the research
on the mask to verify that it is faulty. It leaks below the chin with head movement and
along the jaw with sweating. We (by directive of BG Ralph Wooten) officially sent our
report up to the Pentagon in 1995.

Finally a little over a year ago Pentagon officials admitted the mask was faulty but blamed
it on maintenance. Army officials refuse to do anything.

When we heard that our own warriors were deploying and in response to homeland security needs,
I offered to help the IARNG get ready- they refused our help. During early December, I met in
Chicago with 3 M representative (Michael Lee Orr, 1-800-538-0546) who is
responsible for the M40 and showed him the actual report and then showed him
where it fails. Mr. Orr had completed a factory fit of the mask on my face
prior to our test. He was very upset but said although he had heard this
before he never seen the report nor had anyone shown him the failure points,
how it fails, and why it fails. The problem is that there is insufficient
rubber under the chin to keep the chin in the pocket with movement (downward
jaw extension) and thus the chin pops out with movement for many face shapes.
We have proven this with local M40 equipment trials at military units and
community emergency services agencies. I have also talked to the ILARNG and
Army Chaplains. They are upset , but what but said what can you do other
than go public?

SIMPLY, WE ARE DEPLOYING OUR OWN ONCE MORE WITH DEFECTIVE EQUIPMENT
AND WITH INADEQUATE EDUCATION/ TRAINING.

Past result- Individuals, from our community, Illinois Congressional District
15, including myself, who previously were exposed to WMD--E while wearing the
M40 are sick and some have died. That is why Army officials refuse to do
anything. If they acknowledge mask defects they must acknowledge health
effects and assume responsibility.

Future result- If individuals are exposed while wearing defective equipment
and a leak occurs with jaw movement or sweating then illness and / or death
may occur once more.

Solution: Soldiers should be taught / told not to extend their jaw and thus
pop the chin out of the mask until the mask can be repaired by adding more
material to the chin area of the mask or replaced with a mask that will not
leak. If you have any questions, please call me.
Dr. Doug Rokke
Major, Medical Service Corps, USAR
WMD-E instructor / Nuclear Medical Sciences Officer

Page created December 1, 2002 by Charlie Jenks.