Photo By David Lipp | U.S. Air Force emergency management members Master Sgt. Brian LeBrun, of the 114th...... read more read more
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Chief Master Sgt. Kristi Erickson, the 119th Civil Engineer Squadron emergency management superintendent, hosted 10 emergency management members from units across the country to test their chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) equipment and tactics in cold weather conditions at the North Dakota Air National Guard Regional Training Site, Fargo, N.D., March 7-9, 2022.
“Our goals were to train in cold weather conditions to decide if we had the right equipment, how operations would differ from normal CBRN operations, and see if any additional tactics, techniques and procedures would be developed from this training,” said Chief Master Sgt. Jon Pieters, the Air National Guard emergency management region three chief, from the 133rd Civil Engineer Squadron, Minneapolis, Minn.
The Fargo temperature conditions were ideal, hovering just over zero degrees Fahrenheit during the training, with a fresh layer of snow from the previous night and snow banks piled along base roadways and parking lots.
Training in cold weather can present unique challenges with detection equipment that uses electricity, because batteries don’t last as long.
The emergency managers wore different amounts and layers of clothing both under and over their chemical ensembles to capture data on the efficacy of staying warm while also completing their tasks, which also presented challenges.
“Things are a little different in the cold because of all of the layers, you lose a little of the dexterity,” said Tech. Sgt. Amanda Ptacek, of the 179th Civil Engineer Squadron, Mansfield, Ohio.
Recent thawing and freezing of the snow has created patches of a thick layer of ice under the snow, making for extremely slippery conditions for driving, walking and working.
Adaptations for placing equipment had to be made because of the frozen ground, where stakes could not be driven through the layers ice and hardened dirt.
“A lot of our CBRN training is more commonly conducted in warm weather conditions, and our military forces have to be prepared to operate in any weather, so this cold weather training really gives us the experience we need to be better prepared,” said Erickson.
One of the goals at the completion of this event and future training and exercise events is to aid in the formulation of new and updated tactics, techniques, and procedures that will be the baseline for CBRN operations in extreme cold weather environments.
“The purpose here, was for us was to reach out to other units, collect data from them and the U.S. Military references so that we could compile this data to make some improved course of actions for CBRN operations,” said Pieters.
The participants are hoping to conduct another cold weather training event next winter.
“We all learned something new regarding our equipment limiting factors for our cold weather standard operating procedures. It was a very successful training event and we want to expand on it for the future,” said Erickson.
| Date Taken: | 03.09.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 03.17.2022 10:50 |
| Story ID: | 416642 |
| Location: | FARGO, ND, US |
| Web Views: | 104 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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