20th CBRNE troops train with 82nd Airborne Division

Courtesy Photo | Soldiers from 20th CBRNE Command (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives) are participating in the 2nd Brigade Combat Team's Global Response Force mission training rotation at Fort Polk, La. (Photo credit: Sgt. 1st Class Seth Laughter)  

UNITED STATES

09.03.2014

Story by Walter Ham  

20th CBRNE Command

FORT POLK, La. -- The U.S. Army's only command that combats chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive threats is training with paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team at the Joint Readiness Training Center here this month.

Soldiers from 20th CBRNE Command (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives) are participating in the 2nd Brigade Combat Team's Global Response Force mission training rotation at the U.S. Army's premier light infantry training center.

The 20th CBRNE Command's 52nd EOD Group and 48th Chemical Brigade are taking part in the rotation, including Soldiers from the Fort Bragg, North Carolina-based 192nd EOD Battalion, 737th EOD Company, 21st CBRN Company and 3-68th CBRNE Response Team.

Earlier this year, 20th CBRNE began integrating with ground combat units during their rotations to the Joint Readiness Training Center on Folk Polk and the National Training Center on Fort Irwin, California.

Headquartered on Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, the 20th CBRNE Command serves on 19 military posts in 16 states and deploys around the world to counter Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), eliminate CBRNE threats and defeat Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). Soldiers from 20th CBRNE Command train and operate with allied, interagency and joint partners.

The 20th CBRNE Command is aligning its three brigade-sized elements with I Corps, III Corps and XVIII Airborne Corps. The Fort Carson, Colorado-based 71st EOD Group will cover the Asia Pacific region; the Fort Hood, Texas-based 48th Chemical Brigade will operate in Europe, Africa and the Middle East; and the Fort Campbell, Kentucky-based 52nd EOD Group will deploy for Global Response Force missions.

According to 20th CBRNE Commanding General Brig. Gen. JB Burton, the combat training center rotations improve readiness across the force.

"This exercise, along with the other Combat Training Center rotations, demonstrates the enduring knowledge that units familiar with one another, who are familiar and focused on a designated mission area, and specific regions, and who enjoy unity of command and unity of effort, are better prepared formations," said Burton, a native of Tullahoma, Tennessee.

• Date Taken: 09.03.2014
• Date Posted: 09.03.2014 14:42
• Story ID: 141047
• Location: US
• Hometown: TULLAHOMA, TN, US