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FORT IRWIN, Calif. - The 20th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives (CBRNE) Command team visited the CBRNE Task Force participating in Decisive Action Rotation 17-04 at the National Training Center, Fort Irwin, California, from Feb. 23 - 26.
Brig. Gen. William E. King IV and Command Sgt. Maj. Kenneth Graham, commander and senior enlisted advisor, respectively, for the 20th CBRNE Command, met with the soldiers of the CBRNE Task Force during their battlefield circulation.
“This is fantastic place to train, soldiers get to be soldiers out here, and as far as your eye can see, this is the ‘playground’ they have to play with. The National Training Center has a great active threat here so our Soldiers have to stay on their toes here and be ready all the time,” said King. “NTC allows our Warrior-Scientists the time to practice what they preach, practice what they study, and put into practice what it is they are going to do when they have to be employed around the world against those CBRNE threats,” King added.
The National Training Center is a great opportunity for 20th CBRNE units to work with BCTs and many other formations on a variety of CBRNE mission sets. It also allows for us to test our internal systems and authorized equipment and TTPs in a very complex training environment with a very capable OPFOR Graham said after his visit to NTC.
“One of the areas we continue to struggle with is our communications systems and equipment. We need to put some focus on this area and get our junior NCOs trained so that they can train their squads and teams," Graham added.
The CBRNE Task Force is the 20th CBRNE Command’s multifunctional approach to combating CBRNE threats on today’s battle field. The benefit of the CBRNE Task Force is that it provides a supported commander one mission command structure to manage CBRN, Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD), nuclear and laboratory assets within a brigade combat team area of operations.
“Here we actually have a full up battalion task force consisting of CBRN, CBRN Response Teams, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Company, a Nuclear Disablement Team, as well as a Chemical Threat Team from the 1st Area Medical Laboratory,” King said. “Having the brigade work with all those capabilities in a tactical environment like this is an essential part of their preparation,” King added.
This is the first time this fiscal year the 20th CBRNE Command has deployed a CBRNE Task Force to a combat training center. The NTC 17-04 rotation is designed to prepare 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division for future deployments.
Because of recent threats around the globe, the CBRNE Task force provides the brigade combat team a multifunctional task force that can combat the full range of CBRN and EOD threats and hazards they may face in the United States and abroad.
“We did not just send CBRN or EOD because we see the synergy between those two working together, but because it is a lot more capable and truly more capacity to deal with the threats and the complex nature of the WMD sites,” King said.
According to various open source websites, several countries have significant chemical and biological stockpiles and growing nuclear weapons programs. Also, the recent state and non-state actors’ use of chemical weapons in Syria and Iraq have shown the dangerous physical and psychological effects of CBRNE weapons.
“The idea of chemical and biological warfare was something hypothetical. It has never been used since World War I, and most military forces didn’t think they would use it,” King said. “Today, we have seen it used in Syria, we’ve seen it used in many other places, and the threat of its use is no longer something hypothetical. Today, it is a real world threat. And the cost of our soldiers not doing it correctly can be catastrophic.”
The possible use of CBRNE weapons is not limited to only a few countries. On today’s battlefield, state and non-state actors are using CBRN and explosive devices more often. Because of this increased use, the 20th CBRNE Command, in partnership with the National Training Center and other members of the CBRNE community, intentionally constructs industrial scale training venues and targets to increase the realism of what may be encountered on today’s battlefield. Similar projects have occurred at the Joint Readiness Training Center, Fort Polk, Louisiana, and currently at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany.
“About four years ago, we built and continue to refine target sets at the National Training Center to replicate some of the highest end threats of the world. We have done the same thing at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, Louisiana, for our light fighters because it is just as important that they get a chance to practice on the same kind of target sets,” King said. “At the Joint Multinational Readiness Training Center in Germany, we are working with our NATO allies to help build a training facility where they can practice these same kind of tactics, techniques and procedures.”
The CBRNE Task Force is a scalable and tailorable multifunctional task force, and for NTC Rotation 17-04 is comprised of the 2nd CBRN Battalion which forms the headquarters element. It is responsible for the integration and employment of low-density, highly technical capabilities of the CBRNE Task Force. Other elements of the CBRNE Task Force consist of the 797th Ordnance Company (EOD), 181st Hazard Response Company, 1/68th CBRNE Response Team from Fort Hood, Texas. The 1st Area Medical Laboratory and the CBRNE Analytical and Remediation Activity, from Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, provides laboratory validation for the maneuver commander.
Serving on 19 posts in 16 states, 20th CBRNE Command Soldiers and civilians train and operate with allied, interagency and joint partners to counter the world's most dangerous weapons.
| Date Taken: | 02.26.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 03.16.2017 10:59 |
| Story ID: | 227034 |
| Location: | FORT IRWIN, CA, US |
| Hometown: | FORT IRWIN, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 292 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Task Force training prepares for real-world missions, by LTC Ryan Donald, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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