STANREC 4738
STANREC 4738 low burden CBRN protective clothing recommendation (AEP-85)
The materiel acquisition community, those setting requirements for personal protection, and the research, development, testing and evaluation community working on low burden CBRN protective clothing
STANREC 4738 is NATO's non-binding recommendation that nations use AEP-85 (Edition A) for developing, acquiring and evaluating low burden CBRN protective clothing; adoption is voluntary, not required.
- Edition
- 1
- Published
- 2016-10-28
What it is
STANREC 4738 is a NATO Standardization Recommendation, Edition 1, on low burden chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) protective clothing. A STANREC is built the same way a STANAG is, with one difference that matters: a STANAG is an agreement nations ratify, a STANREC is a recommendation they are free to take up. The document says so directly - it "is a non-binding document employed on a voluntary basis and does not require commitment of the nations to implement the standards which are listed in it."
What it recommends
STANREC 4738 carries no protective-clothing requirements of its own. Its aim, in its own words, is "to list recommended practices regarding: The development, acquisition and evaluation of low burden CBRN protective clothing." The one thing it recommends is a single document: "AEP-85, Edition A." Everything else in the STANREC is context around that recommendation, not additional substance. It also states that AEP-85 "is intended to be used in conjunction with" AEP-38, the related document covering operational requirements, technical specifications and evaluation criteria for CBRN protective clothing, which NATO covers separately under STANREC 4548.
Who it addresses
The document names its intended readers plainly: "the materiel acquisition community, those involved in setting requirements for personal protection, and ... the research and development, testing and evaluation of CBRN protective clothing." It is written to nations and NATO bodies rather than to a supplier or manufacturer directly - it is a nation's own acquisition process, or a contract that separately invokes AEP-85, that turns the recommendation into a requirement on a given programme.
Who is behind it, and how it is kept current
The tasking authority named in the document is the NATO Army Armaments Group (NAAG) together with the Joint CBRN Defence Capability Development Group (JCBRND-CDG); the custodian is named as the United Kingdom. The STANREC "is to be reviewed at least once every three years," with the result "recorded within the NSDD." This is the first edition, dated 28 October 2016 (NSO/1339(2016)JCBRNDCDG/4738); it supersedes no earlier document.
Where it has force, and what it does not cover
STANREC 4738 binds nobody by itself: whatever obligation an organisation meets comes from a nation's own acquisition procedure or a contract that separately invokes AEP-85, not from this document existing. It is a NATO non classified document, "to be handled in accordance with C-M(2002)60," and free of charge. It also stops well short of a technical specification: it prints no agent list, no detection threshold and no protective-performance figure of its own. Those requirements, where they exist, live in AEP-85 and AEP-38, not in this two-page recommendation.
How it is checked
STANREC 4738 names no certification body, no government quality assurance arrangement, no notified body, and no self-declaration scheme. The only assessment it describes is aimed at the document itself - the periodic review above - not at an organisation, a supplier, or an item of protective clothing. Whatever evaluation a candidate item of clothing actually receives is set by whichever nation or contract requires AEP-85 on a given programme, and that evaluation sits outside this STANREC entirely.
How we help
STANREC 4738 is a cover document. The low burden CBRN protective clothing practice it points to lives in AEP-85, and the work of setting requirements, running trials and evaluating candidate clothing happens in a programme's own acquisition and test process, not inside a compliance tool. What ComplyTrain supports is the documentation trail that any such acquisition needs, whichever technical method a programme is required to follow: the procedure describing how requirements were set and how evaluation was run, the training record showing the people involved were briefed on the applicable practice, and the audit trail of what was decided, when, and by whom.
ComplyTrain does not perform CBRN protective-clothing testing or evaluation, does not assess agent protection performance, and does not decide whether a candidate item meets AEP-85. The applicable tier on any given contract, and the standards that come with it, are set by the contract and the customer's quality clause, not by us - explore the related standards this STANREC sits alongside, or talk to us about the documentation a low burden CBRN protective clothing programme needs to hold up under review.
Standards it references
- STANREC 4548Background
- AEP-38Background
Questions
Is STANREC 4738 mandatory?
No. It is a recommendation, not an agreement nations ratify. The document states that it "is a non-binding document employed on a voluntary basis and does not require commitment of the nations to implement the standards which are listed in it." Any obligation an organisation meets comes from a contract or a nation's own acquisition procedure that separately requires AEP-85, not from the STANREC itself.
What does STANREC 4738 actually recommend?
One document: "AEP-85, Edition A," for developing, acquiring and evaluating low burden CBRN protective clothing. It also states AEP-85 is intended to be used together with AEP-38, the related operational requirements and evaluation criteria document covered by STANREC 4548.
What is the difference between a STANREC and a STANAG?
A STANAG is an agreement NATO nations ratify, with reservations possible on implementation. A STANREC recommends a practice without asking for that commitment. STANREC 4738 recommends AEP-85; it does not ratify it.
Is there a certification for AEP-85 or STANREC 4738?
No certification, government surveillance, or notified-body scheme is named in the document. The only review it describes is of the STANREC's own currency, at least once every three years, not an assessment of an organisation or an item of protective clothing.
Does STANREC 4738 cost anything to obtain?
No. NATO standardization documents are free of charge; STANREC 4738 is not sold by NATO or by us.