What it is
The agreement and the publication it covers
STANAG 3828 is a North Atlantic Treaty Organization standardization agreement, not a technical specification in its own right. Participating nations that ratify it agree to implement AAMedP-1.14, Edition B, the Allied Medical Publication setting minimum requirements for protecting aircrew against the hazards of laser systems and devices. The agreement is the commitment; the publication it covers is where the substance lives. Edition 5 was promulgated on 21 September 2022, superseding STANAG 3828 AMD, Edition 4 of 6 June 2017.
Ratification and implementation are separate steps
Ratifying the agreement and implementing it are two distinct actions, reported separately. A nation's ratification response is recorded in the NATO Standardization Document Database (NSDD). Implementation is reported afterwards, through NATO's electronic reporting tool, by Allies and NATO bodies; partner nations are separately invited to report their own implementation the same way. The agreement carries no NATO Effective Date: it takes effect for each nation once received for use, rather than on a single alliance-wide date, and binds a nation once that nation has ratified it.
What counts as implemented
The agreement sets out several conditions together, rather than one milestone. National doctrine, regulation and procedures have to be updated to reflect the publication. The personnel concerned have to be issued with the protective equipment it covers, and able to operate it. A system has to exist to track and evidence the training given, and the personnel carrying out the relevant tasks have to have actually received that training. The equipment itself has to meet the applicable performance standards. The agreement notes this reaches national doctrine and regulation, national acquisition programmes for protection equipment, and the training of the personnel concerned, so it changes procurement, training and record-keeping together rather than landing as a single event.
Other publications it names
The cover lists STANAG 3606, on laser safety for military use, and STANAG 7165, on the initial investigation and immediate management of laser eye damage in aircrew, alongside AAMedP-1.9, the publication STANAG 7165 in turn covers. These sit as related documents rather than requirements this agreement itself imposes.
Review and supervision
The STANAG is reviewed in accordance with AAP-03, with the result of the review recorded in the NSDD. It is supervised by the Military Committee Air Standardization Board, through its Aeromedical Working Group.