Photo By Gunnery Sgt. Steve Cushman | Infographic for BRN-94 suite. read more read more
Fort Eustis, Virginia – Joint Task Force Civil Support is upgrading the unit’s chemical protective gear, and is purchasing a new suit, that is lightweight, easier to don and more suited to the anticipated hazards.
The old JSLIST suit (Joint Service Lightweight Integrated Suit Technology), protects the wearer from chemical or biological weapons agents. But that isn’t what would likely pose the greatest threat to JTF-CS, explained Army Lt. Col. Michael Bonura, Protection and CBRN Analysis Chief. After careful analysis, they determined that “the only hazards with the potential of contaminating the JTF-CS Headquarters are Radiological and Nuclear particulate (nuclear fallout) and Biological infectious diseases.”
With that in mind, the command began looking for alternatives that would protect their team in the right environment. With the help of the National Fire Protection Association, they chose the class 4 suit, the BRN-94.
The JSLIST suits were heavy and bulky, causing heat to be retained and shortening the amount of time the wearer could stay in the suit without becoming a heat casualty. The new suit has an inner and outer layer of Gortex, allowing air flow.
“The biggest benefit of the new suit over the JSLIST is the thermal conductivity,” Bonura said.
The new suit is about a quarter of the weight and bulk of the old suit, which, according to Bonura, is not just for the wearer.
“The Class 4 ensemble is lighter and smaller, significantly reducing the transportation requirements for the command which is extremely important in a deployable headquarters like ours,” he said.
The JSLIST suit consisted of five parts: the pants, the zippered top, gloves, rubber boots and the face mask, on the other hand the BRN-94, consists of 2 parts: the suit and the mask. Because the suit is one piece with an air tight seal to the mask, it creates a complete barrier rather than having 5 different possible entry points.
According to the manufacturer, “The BRN-94 was developed in response to the Ebola Virus Disease outbreak and is designed with integrated barrier gloves and booties, a liquid-proof zipper and storm fly, and integrated hood with a rubber face seal.”
“I call it a ‘onesie,’” laughed Bonura. “It’s a single integrated garment with socks attached to the legs for foot protection, gloves attached to the arms for hand protection, a hood that seals over the mask for head and neck protection.”
Once donned, the wearer puts their regular boots on over the suit along with gloves that allows the fingers more dexterity. It was taking the environment into consideration that brought on this change of gear. JTF-CS’s mission is one that could bring the unit within 10 to 20 miles of the blast zone.
The JTF-CS team is looking to change out the old suits entirely by the end of 2016. While the new suits are only for the headquarters team, Bonura is hopeful that the rest of the Defense CBRN Response Force will update their suits soon.
“The BRN-94 has only been available for approximately 6 months, and JTF-CS is the first organization to adopt the BRN-94 to protect its personnel,” he said. “However, we believe that there is a great potential in this ensemble and hope to get this PPE adopted for use by the entire DCRF.”
| Date Taken: | 06.23.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 06.23.2016 09:17 |
| Story ID: | 202206 |
| Location: | NEWPORT NEWS, VA, US |
| Web Views: | 294 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, JTFCS Suits Up With New Protective Gear, by Tamara Cario, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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