A study was designed to determine if soldiers trained to use chemical agents are more proficient in performing their jobs in an environment where lethal chemical agents are used and more confident of their ability to survive. A treatment group, composed of 150 soldiers, knew that their training would involve lethal agents in the Chemical Decontamination Training Facility at Fort McClellan, Alabama. Two control groups, one of 30 soldiers trained in the facility, but with nonlethal agents, and the other of 158 soldiers whose training took place in a different nonlethal environment, were used. Proficiency was evaluated with existing written examinations. Confidence was evaluated with a 10-item questionnaire, using 7-point Likert scales, developed for the study. Analyses of the data indicated that the treatment had not affected job proficiency as measured by the written examinations. However, soldiers in the treatment group had the perception that they were better able to survive in combat and to perform their mission in the event of a chemical attack. (Eight data tables are included in the paper.) (CML)