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Managing a large-scale disaster involving chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or explosive (CBRNE) materials requires specific skills, equipment, and other capabilities (e.g., technology, protective gear) — all of which the DoD possesses.
The CBRNE-defensive capabilities are often developed through the Defense Threat Reduction Agency’s Chemical and Biological Technologies Department (DTRA CB)/Joint Science and Technology Office (JSTO), which is part of DoD’s Chemical and Biological Defense Program (CBDP). To ensure each capability is relevant and user-friendly to the warfighter, DTRA CB and JSTO scientists and engineers must first understand its purpose and specifications as well as the environment and context in which it will be used.
Through the Scientist in the Foxhole program, scientists and engineers, with limited or no military experience, work with the military services to better understand the warfighter’s needs and operating conditions.
The program conducts quarterly events to showcase challenges faced by service members, and it does this through exercise participation, direct discussions, and a first-hand look at their operating environments and needs.
While the Scientist in the Foxhole program focuses on teaching scientists and engineers about U.S. Army operations, the program’s name also broadly refers to a series of events that include other military services: Scientist on the Flight Line, focusing on U.S. Air Force operations; Scientist at Sea, focusing on U.S. Navy operations; and Scientist in the Sand, focusing on U.S. Marine Corps operations. Each military service sponsors its specific event.
Recently, four scientists and engineers spent a week with the U.S. Marine Corps Chemical Biological Incident Response Force (CBIRF) to participate in a specialized training that focused on responding to an improvised nuclear detonation in a major U.S. city. While the radiological nature of the hazard wasn’t a direct link to the chemical and biological mission of CBDP, many characteristics of responding to a nuclear disaster also apply to chemical and biological events, such as preparation, planning, protection postures, exposure control, cross-contamination management, decontamination, and treatment of victims.
During the training exercise, CBIRF conducted operations while in a protective posture, consisting of physical barriers (clothing, weapons, tanks, etc.), to counter a threat and accomplish the mission. The scientists and engineers responded to localized hazards, including the release of an unknown material from a transport tanker. The strenuous activities highlighted the physical and mental demands of conducting missions in today’s protective gear.
Several days of focused training allowed observations of and participation in key activities of the response, including:
| Date Taken: | 09.19.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 09.25.2019 17:25 |
| Story ID: | 343749 |
| Location: | FORT BELVOIR, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 193 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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