Chemical warfare and chemical terrorism both employ certain classes of chemical compounds as weapons of mass destruction to achieve military or political ends.  Military medical officers and enlisted medical personnel need to become familiar with the chemistry and toxicology of these compounds to be able to recognize and manage casualties produced by these agents. The growing recognition of the very real battlefield and terrorist threat of the use of chemical-warfare agents has fueled the interest in this subject among both military and civilian health care providers Characteristics of Nerve Agents