Inaugural CBRNE Leaders Course held in Maryland

Photo By Walter Ham | Soldiers from the 20th CBRNE Command participate in the inaugural CBRNE Leaders Course at Gunpowder Range, Md., March 26.  

GUNPOWDER RANGE, MD, UNITED STATES

03.26.2015

Story by Walter Ham  

20th CBRNE Command

GUNPOWDER RANGE, Md. - Soldiers from the U.S. Army's 20th CBRNE Command (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives) are participating in the first CBRNE Leaders Course here March 24 - April 2.

The command's senior enlisted leader said the course is designed to mold adaptable leaders capable of effectively combating weaponized, environmental and industrial CBRNE threats around the world.

"The 20th CBRNE Command's CBRNE Leaders Course introduces the students to these threats and fully immerses them into a training environment complicated by a wide variety of CBRNE hazards," said 20th CBRNE Command Sgt. Maj. Harold E. Dunn IV.

The Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland-based 20th CBRNE Command not only combats CBRNE hazards on foreign battlefields but also supports law enforcement officials in the United States.

To stay ready for its high-stakes mission, 20th CBRNE trains with joint, interagency and allied partners year round.

A seasoned Army explosive ordnance disposal technician from Fredericksburg, Virginia, Dunn said the course covers the full range of CBRNE hazards, from improvised explosive device ground sign awareness to small unit reconnaissance.

Dunn said the inaugural CBRNE Leaders Course will lay the foundation for a course that will accept students from all U.S. Army occupational specialties.

"This is the first course of its kind," said Dunn. "We will extract all lessons learned from our pilot course and open the opportunity to attend to all military occupational specialties across our Army, since CBRNE threats are not selective in whom they are designed to harm."

The command sergeant major said the course is another aspect of the 20th CBRNE Command's mission-focused training that includes combat training center rotations and exercises around the globe.

"This CBRNE Leaders Course serves to reinforce the foundations necessary to ensure that the 20th CBRNE Command can effectively deliver ready, reliable and globally responsive CBRNE forces capable of leading and executing CBRNE operations and activities at anytime and anywhere," said Dunn.

• Date Taken: 03.26.2015
• Date Posted: 03.26.2015 17:14
• Story ID: 158245
• Location: GUNPOWDER RANGE, MD, US