Reeservists Try to Read President’s Lips : Training: Marine officers are given a refresher course in how to protect their men against chemical agents. Effectiveness of protective gear is questioned.

Thousands of miles from the shimmering heat of the Saudi Arabian desert, U.S. Marine Corps officers on Wednesday received a refresher course in how to protect themselves from the chemical arsenal used by Iraq.

Although troops receive training at least once a year in nuclear, biological and chemical warfare, the instruction carried more significance than normal because of heightened concern about the battlefield tactics of President Saddam Hussein’s army in its long war with Iran.

Posing a psychological as well as a physical threat, Iraq has about 2,000 to 4,000 tons of material in its poison gas

arsenal. It is mostly made up of mustard gas, which causes blisters and burns the lungs. Hussein has used the chemicals against Iranian targets and his own citizenry.

For Wednesday’s demonstration, the Marine Corps invited news reporters to join 16 officers of the 1st Force Supply Group in watching Lance Cpl. Aaron Williams don charcoal-lined clothing and a protective hood equipped with an air filter. The session was held in response to media inquiries about the dangers of chemical weapons and how the military can defend against them.

Already thousands of Marines from the sprawling base in northern San Diego County have been sent to the Middle East. Other units are preparing for possible deployment to Saudi Arabia.

As troops marched past, the group of officers and reporters heard about chemical agents that blister the skin and cause blindness, muscle spasms and cardiac arrest. Antidotes to various agents also were described.

“It could kill you,” Sgt. Tony Schacherbauer, an instructor, said of a blistering agent that is lethal if it enters the mouth.

The officers were told the “buddy system” must be used to don the heavy protective equipment to make sure no skin is exposed. In addition, Marine officers learned how to detect different chemicals and what treatments to use in case of exposure.

Because immediate treatment is needed to survive a nerve gas attack, each soldier is equipped with three special first-aid kits with syringes filled with antidotes. Instructors said troops should have enough warning to prepare for the attack.

There are disadvantages, however. The protective clothing is cumbersome and uncomfortably hot in mild climates, not to mention the 120-degree heat that troops are expected to encounter in the desert. Williams, for example, was in full gear only a few minutes, but beads of sweat formed on his forehead. When he emerged from the headgear, his face was red.

“In the wintertime, it’s hot,” Schacherbauer said of the gear, “so in the summertime, it’s very hot.”

Although troops have trained in desert-like conditions, officials said they believed the equipment has never been used by U.S. forces in combat.

But Lt. Col. Tom Hayden, whose supply unit was going through the refresher course, cautioned against hasty judgments about whether the equipment would work and whether the climate would hinder the performance of the troops.

“I have to go with what I’ve got,” Hayden said. “I am confident that we will be able, in the type of threat I am trained in, (to) get the gear on in time, and we can wear the gear and be effective until the chemical agent dissipates.”

The attack probably would not last long, Hayden said, because the intense heat will cause the chemicals to evaporate quickly. Depending on the type of agent, the full head-to-toe gear might not be needed for very long.

Hayden also minimized the chance that chemical weapons would be employed in the Mideast.

“If any enemy thinks he can drop that stuff on us and not suffer the consequences, he’s out of his mind,” Hayden said. “I think the people we would go up against are well aware of the retaliation capability of the United States.”