to perform normal work and increases the likelihood of heat injury. In addition, working
while wearing a protective mask may give some soldiers a "closed in" feeling that can
lead to mental distress. The need to balance protection with the threat, temperature,
and urgency of the mission led to the development of the mission-oriented positive
posture (MOPP) concept. Mission-oriented positive posture is a flexible system for
soldier to wear only the individual protective equipment consistent with the threat and
other conditions, including temperature, humidity, work rate, and mission. There are
five levels, MOPP level zero through MOPP level 4 (figure 1-16). The higher the
number, the greater the level of protection. However, as the level increases, the
efficiency of the soldier decreases correspondingly.
Figure 1-16. MOPP levels.
a. Mission-Oriented Positive Posture Level Zero. At the lowest MOPP level
(MOPP zero), you do not wear any of the MOPP gear. You carry your protective mask
and hood in your carrier and have your protective overgarment (in a sealed bag),
overboots, and gloves readily available (within the work area or vehicle, for example).
You should also have your M258A1 decontamination kit, M8 paper, M9 paper, and
three Mark I kits in your carrier. MOPP zero may be used when the enemy has an NBC
(nuclear, biological, chemical) employment capability, but chemical warfare has not
begun. You should be able to go from MOPP zero to MOPP4 (put on all of your
protective gear) within 8 minutes.
b. Mission-Oriented Positive Posture Level 1. To go from MOPP Level zero
to MOPP Level 1 (MOPP1), remove your protective overgarment from their bag and put
on the protective overgarment and helmet cover. Continue to carry the carrier
containing your mask and hood. You will also carry your overboots and gloves. The
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