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ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. – Brig. Gen. William E. King IV, commander, 20th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives (CBRNE) Command, spoke at National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) conference on Aug. 3 on Aberdeen Proving Ground-Edgewood, Maryland.
King’s main theme throughout his presentation was the 20th CBRNE Command is globally responsive and regionally engaged.
“Based on our unique mission, capabilities, and requirements, the 20th CBRNE Command is actively engaged with our CBRNE partners across military, civilian, first responders, and the international community,” King told the audience.
The command is committed to a robust military-to-military engagement program around the world. This program is critical to building CBRNE capacity and capabilities with our allies and partners.
“Since March the command has worked with allies and partners in Jordan during Shamal Storm, and in Germany alongside our NATO allies improving our CBRN interoperability. And just last month we supported NATO's multinational exercise Precise Response. In which one of our CBRNE Response Teams participated alongside 11 different nations, operating in a live-agent environment,” King added.
It is important for the command to continue to build upon these relationships and establish new ones because ISIS has used chemical weapons in Syria and has attempted to get a hold of nuclear material in Europe.
"This is why we not only work with our European allies and partners, but with other militaries around the world,” said King during a previous interview. “The threat of a CBRN attack is real and to effectively operate together in a CBRN environment to save lives requires training that brings all agencies and organizations together and trains in realistic environments," he added.
The command is not only engaged in Europe; it supports military-to-military engagements in South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia. One of the main areas the command is focused on is the Korean Peninsula.
North Korea continually conducts nuclear tests, but they also have stockpiles of biological and chemical agents.
In the eventuality the 20th CBRNE Command needed to combat weapons of mass destruction or other CBRNE threats on the Korean Peninsula, the command is capable of executing missions as the Joint Task Force-Elimination. In Korea, Korean Army soldier from the Chemical, Biological, and Radiological Defense Command would augment the joint task force making it a Combined Joint Task Force - Elimination.
Later this summer, the command will certify as the Joint Task Force-Elimination, it is the first certification since 2009.
With units on 19 posts in 16 states, the Aberdeen Proving Ground-based 20th CBRNE Command is the Defense Department's only multifunctional formation that combats global chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive threats. The one-of-a-kind command trains with joint, interagency and allied partners around the world.
| Date Taken: | 08.03.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 08.05.2016 16:44 |
| Story ID: | 206252 |
| Location: | ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, MD, US |
| Web Views: | 74 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, King: 20th CBRNE Command is globally responsive and regionally engaged, by LTC Ryan Donald, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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