20th CBRNE trains for Global Response Force mission

Courtesy Photo | Soldiers from the 20th CBRNE Command (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives) are training for the Global Response Force mission at the Joint Readiness Training Center on Fort Polk, La., this month. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Seth Laughter, 2SFAB Public Affairs)  

FORT POLK, LA, UNITED STATES

04.17.2015

Story by Walter Ham  

20th CBRNE Command

FORT POLK, La. - Soldiers from the 20th CBRNE Command (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives) are training for the Global Response Force mission here this month.

The 722nd Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Company is participating in the training rotation with the 82nd Airborne Division here at the Joint Readiness Training Center.

The Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland-based 20th CBRNE Command began integrating into decisive action rotations in 2013 and 20th CBRNE units train with U.S. Army maneuver forces here on Fort Polk and at the National Training Center on Fort Irwin, California.

The Fort Bragg, North Carolina-based 722nd EOD Company is part of the 192nd EOD Battalion, 52nd EOD Group, 20th CBRNE Command.

With Soldiers and civilians on 19 posts in 16 states, 20th CBRNE is home to 85 percent of the U.S. Army's CBRNE forces.

The only U.S. military formation of its kind, 20th CBRNE combats chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive threats in support of operations around the globe and conducts Defense Support to Civil Authorities missions in the United States.

In support of the U.S. Army's regional alignment efforts, 20th CBRNE is aligning its three brigade-sized elements to cover different geographic areas.

The Fort Carson, Colorado-based 71st EOD Group covers the Asia Pacific region; the Fort Hood, Texas-based 48th CBRN Brigade operates in Europe, Africa and the Middle East; and the Fort Campbell, Kentucky-based 52nd EOD Group deploys for Global Response Force missions.

Brig. Gen. JB Burton, the commanding general of 20th CBRNE Command, said decisive action training rotations have helped to instill an expeditionary mindset into his command.

"We never know where we might be called to serve so we have to be ready to go anywhere at any time," said Burton, a native of Tullahoma, Tennessee. "These training rotations have proven that 20th CBRNE Soldiers and civilians are more than up to that challenge."

• Date Taken: 04.17.2015
• Date Posted: 04.17.2015 14:51
• Story ID: 160379
• Location: FORT POLK, LA, US
• Hometown: TULLAHOMA, TN, US