S2: Why did the US not know or understand the armor threat in Korea already?  Where was the national level intelligence apparatus to collect such information?  Why didn’t the US not equip the US Forces to deal with one of the biggest threats (armor) of the war?  Are we not doing the same thing today with respect to the CBRN threat (decon, limited equipment on Penn, training aides, actual atropine and associated lotions)?

The US did not understand the armor threat in Korea because the underestimated the will of their enemy. The average Soldier in TF smith believed their presence alone would deter the movement of their enemy and therefore did not need to be trained. The US did not equip their forces because they did not believe the equipment was required. We also did not fully understand how the technological changes from WWII would shape warfare.

No, we are not doing the same thing today in respect to the CBRN threat. The United States in the 1950’s did not fully understand how tanks and bombers would shape future warfare but had the ability to combat them. Today, we are very aware of the capabilities of chemical warfare but are unable prevent it. The equipment required to support chemical warfare does not exist, or is not an effective way to prevent the threat. The current decon equipment, atropine, or associated lotions are designed to prevent death after a chemical attack and are not designed to prevent or provide support during a chemical attack.