# How would the military respond to a zombie attack **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 26, 2009, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-military-respond-to-a-zombie-attack/511616 "2009-09-26T02:49:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-military-respond-to-a-zombie-attack/511616/21 "2009-09-29T12:14:16Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > Which doesn’t make any kind of sense. > > The shockwave from explosives kills by rupturing soft internal organs, notably the brain. > > The main reason why soldiers are given helmets is to protect the brain from shrapnel damage. > > If zombies are killed by destroying the brain then explosives will work just fine. > > My SWAG would be that explosives would be at least 50% as effective against zombies as against regular people. Oh, for sure. I’m not saying it’s going to be pointless. You’ll still get dead Zed’s, for sure. But not nearly as many as you would humans, plus you wouldn’t get the psychological impact of a heavy bombing. We bombed the Iraqi’s for what felt like weeks, back in 1991, and when the ground war started 600,000 of them surrendered. Zombie’s don’t surrender, and they wouldn’t get shell shock, and they wouldn’t be scared of the next plane flying through the air… they just keep coming, dragging themselves along if they have to… ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-military-respond-to-a-zombie-attack/511616/22 "2009-09-29T15:01:04Z")
The real fun starts when you have to go in the apartment buildings crammed full of either scared people or zombies-usually both. In the original Romero it wasn’t a spreading disease though, was it? It was just WHAMMO all the dead are rising. Be harder to contain on that scale I think. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-military-respond-to-a-zombie-attack/511616/23 "2009-09-29T15:07:42Z")
> [@Tristan](#): > > We bombed the Iraqi’s for what felt like weeks, back in 1991, and when the ground war started 600,000 of them surrendered. That is entirely due to two factors: We weren’t bombing civilian areas and the soldiers were shletered in bunkers. Neither of those factors applies to zombies. Rest assured, if you bombed a zombie infested zone for just two hours not a single zombie would remain. Remember, these things wander around aimlessly, they don’t seek shwlter in foxholes. > [@](#): > > Zombie’s don’t surrender, and they wouldn’t get shell shock, and they wouldn’t be scared of the next plane flying through the air… they just keep coming, dragging themselves along if they have to… Exactly. They don’t get scared so they don’t seek shelter. Zombies in the open. \*Always \*zombies in the open. Fire for effect. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-military-respond-to-a-zombie-attack/511616/24 "2009-09-29T20:32:01Z")
> [@](#): > > Of course, all the people who object to privately owned firearms would be zombie-bait =) I don’t know about that… A chainsaw’s better than a gun anyway, and a sword would probably be nearly as much so. Besides, my apartment would be easy enough to secure even without any weaponry-- At most, I might rig up some thermite and my hacksaw to put some gaps in the stairs. > [@](#): > > And I haven’t seen the movie, but in terms of just “generic malls,” all the ones I’ve seen have a glass door/glass restaurant window front somewhere. Even if you have the slow-moving type of zombies, enough of them pushing up against each other can break that glass. So you salvage anything you need from the restaurant, then close the security gate connecting it to the rest of the mall. Not a problem. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2009, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-military-respond-to-a-zombie-attack/511616/25 "2009-10-03T16:37:02Z")
I’m not sure what the army would do, but at least some academic institutions have a [firm plan in place](http://209.85.229.132/search?q=cache%3AMrDhr6ceHHcJ%3Ahttps%3A%2F%2Flss.at.ufl.edu%2Fservices%2Freports%2Fcms%2Fzbsd_exercise.pdf+Zombie+Attack%2C+Disaster+Preparedness+Simulation+Exercise&hl=en&gl=uk). It appears to involve a lot of paperwork. > [@](#): > > Page | 5 > INFECTED CO-WORKER DISPATCH FORM > Personal Information > Name: \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ UFID: \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ > Work Phone: \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ Work Address: \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ > Work Department/Unit: \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ > Incident Information > Date of Incident: \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ Location: \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ > This is to verify that at the time and place indicated above I was required to kill \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ > (last name) > \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_, UFID # \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ because he / she was displaying the following > (last name) > (if known) > symptoms of ZBSD, or Zombie Behavior Spectrum Disorder (check all that apply): > \_\_\_\_\_ headache > \_\_\_\_\_ fever > \_\_\_\_\_ chills > \_\_\_\_\_ other flu-like symptoms > \_\_\_\_\_ unresponsive to most stimuli > \_\_\_\_\_ moaning > \_\_\_\_\_ references to wanting to eat brains > \_\_\_\_\_ recently dead but moving again > \_\_\_\_\_ large areas of decaying flesh or open wounds > \_\_\_\_\_ lack of rational thought (this can cause problems confusing zombies with managers) > \_\_\_\_\_ killed and ate another employee: \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ > (name and unit of other employee) > Based on these symptoms I killed \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ using a: > (name of dispatched zombie) > \_\_\_\_\_ handgun > \_\_\_\_\_ rifle > \_\_\_\_\_ shotgun > \_\_\_\_\_ baseball bat > \_\_\_\_\_ chainsaw > \_\_\_\_\_ piece of furniture > \_\_\_\_\_ explosive device - \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ > (describe device) > \_\_\_\_\_ other - \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ > (describe) > Dispatching Employee Signature: \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2009, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-military-respond-to-a-zombie-attack/511616/26 "2009-10-03T17:01:10Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > It seems a single squad or section of soldiers in an air tight armored vehicle could easily destroy thousands of them a day. Just go to an area with high population density, build a perimeter around it so nothing can get in or out, find some bait to draw them out, then shoot them/burn them/bomb them/run them over. Wash/rinse/repeat. After most are dead, clear out the area of all dead, disinfect, and slowly move people back in. If this was a bioweapon wouldn’t it be introduced into more than a single city? The zombie infestation would happen at multiple locations at once. It seems like a fair amount of the very reserves one would be calling up would turn into zombies before getting out or anyone knew what was even happening. And if it were contained to just a single city, it seems like this method would effectively depopulate it of both zombies and people. This sounds like an effective weapon. ---
**Author:** ![Haunted](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/898d66/32.png) [@Haunted](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Haunted)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2009, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-military-respond-to-a-zombie-attack/511616/27 "2009-10-05T11:39:25Z")
If it were a real zombie outbreak, the military would have no trouble putting an end to it. That’s because zombies are slow moving and not capable of using tools like weapons. The infection spreads quickly but not so quickly that an infected person cannot be easily contained. An outbreak of something like the rage virus in 28 Days or 28 Weeks later would be harder to deal with because the infected are not zombies. They’re alive, they move fast, they’re very aggressive, and the infection spreads at an incredibly fast rate. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2009, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-military-respond-to-a-zombie-attack/511616/28 "2009-10-08T21:38:51Z")
> [@Haunted](#): > > An outbreak of something like the rage virus in 28 Days or 28 Weeks later would be harder to deal with because the infected are not zombies. They’re alive, they move fast, they’re very aggressive, and the infection spreads at an incredibly fast rate. But on the other hand they are alive (so can be killed, and bleed out, just like regular humans). I found the scene in 28 weeks later when the soldiers are overrun by a few hundred rage infected humans pretty unconvincing personally. I mean rage-infected or not, a bunch of leary unarmed dudes are not charging down a [50-cal emplacement](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVQ7YDWMl00&feature=related) any time soon. Though I guess “zombies all get shot, everyone goes home” wouldn’t make such a good ending would it 🙂 Not to mention the fact that in a bio-hazard situation every soldier invovled will be wearing a NBC suit which (and body armor+helmet) which would make him pretty invunerable to getting kicked in (or infected) by the infected. ---
**Author:** ![Haunted](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/898d66/32.png) [@Haunted](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Haunted)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-military-respond-to-a-zombie-attack/511616/29 "2009-10-09T23:39:34Z")
> [@](#): > > But on the other hand they are alive (so can be killed, and bleed out, just like regular humans). I found the scene in 28 weeks later when the soldiers are overrun by a few hundred rage infected humans pretty unconvincing personally. I mean rage-infected or not, a bunch of leary unarmed dudes are not charging down a 50-cal emplacement any time soon. Though I guess “zombies all get shot, everyone goes home” wouldn’t make such a good ending would it > > Not to mention the fact that in a bio-hazard situation every soldier invovled will be wearing a NBC suit which (and body armor+helmet) which would make him pretty invunerable to getting kicked in (or infected) by the infected. True. Still… not zombies. And I think it would have been really cool if Woody Harrelson had had a chain gun in Zombieland. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-military-respond-to-a-zombie-attack/511616/30 "2009-10-09T23:52:55Z")
It depends on the kind of “zombies” in question. If it’s something marginally physically possible, like the driven-mad-by-disease shamblers in _28 Days Later,_ then it’s enough to keep them isolated; they’ll soon die of starvation. If they’re supernatural zombies who don’t really need a diet of human flesh to keep lurching, but just seem to like it a whole lot for some reason, only a head shot will do. Unless they’re the _Herbert West, Re-Animator_ kind – then, apparently, nothing short of incineration will put them down. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-military-respond-to-a-zombie-attack/511616/31 "2009-10-10T02:36:58Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > But on the other hand they are alive (so can be killed, and bleed out, just like regular humans). I found the scene in 28 weeks later when the soldiers are overrun by a few hundred rage infected humans pretty unconvincing personally. I mean rage-infected or not, a bunch of leary unarmed dudes are not charging down a [50-cal emplacement](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVQ7YDWMl00&feature=related) any time soon. Though I guess “zombies all get shot, everyone goes home” wouldn’t make such a good ending would it 🙂 > > Not to mention the fact that in a bio-hazard situation every soldier invovled will be wearing a NBC suit which (and body armor+helmet) which would make him pretty invunerable to getting kicked in (or infected) by the infected. The fact that the father gets the virus, and still manages to leave the research lab was crap too. Why would a research lab that has an active form of the rage virus have weaker security than a minimum security prison? A single door could’ve held him back. Plus at least one soldier would’ve shot him. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-military-respond-to-a-zombie-attack/511616/32 "2009-10-10T04:55:19Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I don’t know about that… A chainsaw’s better than a gun anyway, and a sword would probably be nearly as much so. Besides, my apartment would be easy enough to secure even without any weaponry-- At most, I might rig up some thermite and my hacksaw to put some gaps in the stairs. A chainsaw is fine until you run out of gas. Not to mention it’s heavy and really, really loud. Fire it up and congrats, every zombie in miles just heard you. Hope you have enough Gas. A sword could be very useful, provided you know how to use it properly. Most people don’t, and it’s going to be a liability. Remember, you have to take the head off or destroy the brain. While a crowd of zombies is trying to get you. Unless you are lucky/good enough to get them alone most of the time. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-military-respond-to-a-zombie-attack/511616/33 "2009-10-10T05:00:00Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > But on the other hand they are alive (so can be killed, and bleed out, just like regular humans). I found the scene in 28 weeks later when the soldiers are overrun by a few hundred rage infected humans pretty unconvincing personally. I mean rage-infected or not, a bunch of leary unarmed dudes are not charging down a [50-cal emplacement](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVQ7YDWMl00&feature=related) any time soon. Though I guess “zombies all get shot, everyone goes home” wouldn’t make such a good ending would it 🙂 I’m not sure sure what annoyed me more. -The Snipers orders to only shoot the zombies, which completely fails to address the fact that a running zombie and a human running from a zombie look pretty identical. or -The orders to immediately cram all the humans into big underground bunkers. The problem being that if one infected gets in, the big underground bunker full of humans quickly becomes a big underground bunker full of zombies. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-military-respond-to-a-zombie-attack/511616/34 "2009-10-10T05:18:04Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > [li] Depending on how invunerable the zombie-de-jour is (I mean 28-days-later “zombies” are just leary people they should be wiped out in short order), a modern army has enough munitions to wipe out ALOT of them.[/li][li] I would have thought a reguler army “NBC” suit would provide pretty good protect from zombie bites, I mean based on what I’ve seen of them you’d have a hard time biting through one of them.[/li][/LIST] The problem being in most movies is that the army doesn’t get called in to act until it’s far too late for them to do much good. The zombies intially tend to get a head start because it usally seems to take about a day or so before anyone really realizes there’s a threat, after widespread outbreaks begin, and every hour they are unchecked works to their advantage to infect more people. After a certain period of time, the outbreaks become too widespread to contain and the army becomes under increased strain due to the fact their supply lines now become threatened. People are probably not going to work anymore, manning the factories, making weapons, ammo, food, etc, the basic logistics the army requires to survive, let alone function at full capacity. Supply centers, which usally aren’t well defended beyond standard security personnel, probably get overrun first. Attempting to set up refugee centers at military bases may cause military bases to become compromised(Dawn of the dead remake implies the nearby army base is lost because at least one infected managed to remain undetected among the refugees there until was too late). In almost every war the US has fought(as an example), it’s domestic supply lines are pretty safe. In fact, the supply lines are usally safe until they reach the combat zone in question. In the zombie apocolypse, those supply lines become threatened immediatly, no matter where they are, unless the government immediatly acts to protect them from zombie attacks. Or just to deal with the breakdown of the civilian infrastructure(roads becoming clogged as civilians begin to flee the cities en masse). There’s also the willingness of the US government to declare it’s own cities as expendable to wipe out the zombies, thus limiting the military response until they are willing to commit to that(So don’t count on Arc Lights in Central park the first 24 hours, at least). Essentially, it’s like Iraq on the home front, where anyone becomes a potential threat. The longer the military waits to implement martial law and such, the worse their chances become. Eventually, they won’t have enough supplies to get the job done, assuming their morale doesn’t break long before then. OTOH, if the military and the president are on the ball, have a plan worked out, and gets wind of the threat as soon as the first reports surface, it might be possible to stop the outbreak before it manages to spread far. In that case, it would be easy to lock it down before it became an issue. ---
**Author:** ![Haunted](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/898d66/32.png) [@Haunted](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Haunted)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-military-respond-to-a-zombie-attack/511616/35 "2009-10-10T10:19:27Z")
> [@](#): > > A chainsaw is fine until you run out of gas. Not to mention it’s heavy and really, really loud. Fire it up and congrats, every zombie in miles just heard you. Hope you have enough Gas. Sure, chainsaws are sexy but the crowbar will be the real workhorse of the zompocalypse. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-military-respond-to-a-zombie-attack/511616.md?page=1)