PERSONAL PROTECTIVE SYSTEMS FOR SHIPBOARD DAMAGE CONTROL AND FIREFIGHTING

THE U.S. NAVY IS FACING SUBSTANTIALLY INCREASED THREAT LEVELS DUE TO NEW MISSION ASSIGNMENTS AND INCREASED LETHALITY OF OPPOSING FORCE WEAPON SYSTEMS. THIS INCREASINGLY HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT IS BEING COUNTERED WITH DAMAGE CONTROL AND FIREFIGHTING ASSETS THAT WERE ORIGINALLY DESIGNED FOR THE THREATS OF WW II. FURTHERMORE, THE DAMAGE CONTROL/FIREFIGHTING (DC/FF) EQUIPMENT THAT EXISTS WAS NOT DESIGNED TO OPERATE AS AN INTEGRATED SYSTEM. CONSEQUENTLY, NAVAL ASSETS ARE EXPOSED TO GREATER RISKS THAN NECESSARY. RECENT MARITIME HOSTILITIES HAVE UNDERSCORED THE NEED FOR SIGNIFICANT ADVANCES IN DC/FF EQUIPMENT AND OVERALL SYSTEM INTEGRATION TO REDUCE OUR RELIANCE ON PERSONAL HEROICS AND LUCK IN FIGHTING FIRES AND CONTROLLING CASUALTIES ON SHIPS. THE PROPOSED EFFORT WILL FOCUS ON A SYSTEMATIC STUDY OF FOUR AREAS: THE CURRENT AND FUTURE THREATS THAT THE NAVY FACES, THE TASKS THAT MUST BE ACCOMPLISHED NOW AND IN THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE IN DC/FF, THE AVAILABLE EQUIPMENT AND TECHNOLOGIES THAT CAN BE USED TO ACCOMPLISH DC/FF TASKS AND THE INDIVIDUAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT THAT IS REQUIRED FOR OPERATING THE DC/FF GEAR IN PERFORMING SPECIFIC TASKS UNDER THE VARIOUS POSSIBLE ENVIRONMENTS THAT CAN BE ANTICIPATED. A SYSTEMS ENGINEERING APPROACH WILL BE USED TO DEFINE THE REQUIREMENTS FOR AN ENSEMBLE OF PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT, WHICH MAY BE IN A MODULAR FORM, TO ALLOW OPTIMAL RESPONSE TO SHIPBOARD DISASTERS.