Editor's corner.

A potential doomsday scenario of chemical and biological attacks against U.S. forces deployed in the Middle East has put into sharp focus the quality of protective gear issued to thousands of troops. Defense Department officials repeatedly have stressed that the chem-bio defense equipment-suits, boots, gloves, masks and agent detectors-is up to the challenge. Unfortunately, it will rake an act of germ or poison warfare to truly test the caliber of the equipment.

In the past decade, finding for the Pentagon's chemical and biological defense program has tripled, rising to almost $1.4 billion in 2003. The money has helped address some well-documented problems, such as leaky garments and defective masks. Despite the influx of new Rinds into the chem-bio defense program, critics claim that research programs in this arena remain unfocused and procurements are behind schedule.

Industry and government experts offer their views on the current stare of chem-bio defense technology. For details, please turn to our cover story on page 24.

The conflict with Iraq, meanwhile, has tested the capabilities of the United States to move mountains of supplies to the front lines. The head of the U.S. Transportation Command, Air Force Gen. John W Handy, tells National Defense that the buildup overall has been a success, despite many challenges. Our interview with Gen. Handy can be found on page 18.

When the Defense Department conceived an ambitious program to develop a multi-service computer simulation for commanders and war planners, few would have predicted that seven years and almost one billion dollars later, the project would be axed, having failed to produce the "mother of all simulations" that many had envisioned.

The Joint Simulation System will be closing shop in September. But the...