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    Chicago reservists train to save lives

    379th CBRN conducts training

    Photo By Sgt. Joseph Black | Christian L. Miles, assistant chief of training, Area Support Group – Kuwait fire...... read more read more

    KUWAIT

    01.31.2020

    Story by Cpl. Joseph Black 

    U.S. Army Central   

    CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait – As the sun rises over the CENTCOM area of operations, U.S. Army Reserve
    Soldiers receive an exercise mission brief from Christian Miles, Area Support Group – Kuwait
    Fire Department assistant chief of training.
    “A vehicle-borne improvised explosive device carrying hazardous materials has made it
    to the Camp Arifjan main fire station,” says Miles. “Hurry up; we need to get the fire station
    cleaned up and back to full operation.”
    Soldiers with the 379th Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN)
    Company, led by student incident commander, Sgt. Linjess Cabrera, spring into action to make
    the station safe, mitigating spills and recovering victims along the way.
    “Sergeant Lee, you will be in charge of entry team one,” says Cabrera to Sgt. Annie Lee,
    a chemical noncommissioned officer from the Chicago-based unit.
    Cabrera continues to delegate mission-critical tasks including patient care,
    decontamination, and entry teams to his classmates.
    Once all jobs are assigned, the team dispatches to the scene, rapidly beginning to assess
    the situation and set up the incident control point.
    The incident commander then calls in the first entry team, consisting of Lee and her
    assigned partner, Spc. Gabby Marmolejos, and gives direction to don their Level A Hazmat suits
    and prepare to move into the hot zone.
    After working with a member of the medical team to check that their vital signs are
    within safe parameters, Marmolejos and Lee don their protective equipment, a bulky suit
    consisting of multiple pieces including an oxygen tank, chemical protective mask, chemical-
    resistant over suit and boots. Cadre ensure that the students have adequately donned the
    equipment, keeping a watchful eye on the safety of the students.
    Meanwhile, the remainder of the students work diligently to set up a decontamination site
    and triage area for potential casualties.
    Once the medical team has completed all pre-entry checks, Cabrera confidently gives the
    order for the entry team to move forward, make their assessment and report back.
    Using the training they received in the course along with their job-specific training, the
    team cautiously approaches the mock incident. With them, they carry necessary equipment for
    evaluating possible hazards and moving casualties.
    As thick white smoke pours from the mock explosive device, the vision-obscured
    Soldiers locate the hazardous materials, noting the identification labels and a casualty, an
    approximately 150-pound mannequin. They quickly check its responsiveness, reporting their
    findings back to the incident commander, before loading it first onto a litter, then onto their
    casualty evacuation cart.
    As the Soldiers prepare to evacuate the casualty, the decontamination and patient care
    teams make final preparations to receive the casualty and response team.
    Within minutes, Sgt. Phatsara Chanthaniuon, the decontamination team leader, sees the
    blue-suited entry team and mock casualty push through the smoke and begins using pre-
    coordinated hand signals to give direction to Lee and Marmolejos.
    Chanthaniuon and his partner Sgt. Kaylee Kham, begin the crucial process of removing
    potential contaminants from the three individuals using sanitizing kits and water spray from a
    fire hose.
    As the decontamination team efficiently moves through their task, Cabrera gives the
    order for the second entry team, consisting of Sgt. Harry Smith and Sgt. Kris Rothermich, to
    begin mitigation of the material hazards.
    Smith and Rothermich, armed with mitigation tools and personal protective equipment,
    move toward the hazards, utilizing calculated precision to safely remove the chemical threat
    before moving to be decontaminated.
    The third team of Soldiers, Sgt. 1st Class Keith Gugerty and Spc. Daniel Harris, finish up
    the task and report back to incident command.
    “Roger, good copy,” says Cabrera through his handheld radio.
    After scanning the training space and receiving pleased acknowledgment from the course
    instructor, Cabrera gives the command “ENDEX,” a term indicating the end of an exercise
    cueing Soldiers to come together for further instructions.
    With tired smiles, the platoon moves indoors to discuss the training, led by Miles and
    Cabrera.
    “As a company, we work diligently to improve our readiness, should the need for our
    support be requested,” says Cabrera. “I think today’s training did exactly that; we know what we
    did well, and we know the things that we need to work on.”
    Miles concludes the training with an after-action report, complementing the team’s ability
    to communicate through stressful circumstances.
    “It is very easy to get frustrated out there,” says Miles. “But you all spoke clearly through
    the radios throughout the training.”
    As the report concludes and the newly certified Soldiers of the 379th begin to break
    through the classroom doors into the mid-day sun, they take a step forward in their military
    careers, ready to defend against enemies both foreign and domestic.

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 01.31.2020
    Date Posted: 02.11.2020 09:19
    Story ID: 362506
    Location: KW
    Hometown: CHICAGO, IL, US

    Web Views: 189
    Downloads: 1

    PUBLIC DOMAIN