Gas Gas Gas NATO forces strengthen CBRN skills

Photo By Spc. Jayden Woods | Soldiers from 39th BEB and Bulgarian Soldiers from 38th Chemical Battalion take a group photo at the end of their joint training Sept. 28, Novo Selo Training Area, Bulgaria. During the training, both countries taught classes on each step of their process in a CBRN situation. Going through classes of each step from mounted reconnaissance with Bulgarian vehicles to medical first-aid.  

NOVO SELO TRAINING AREA, BULGARIA

09.29.2022

Story by Spc. Zachery Blevins 

101st Airborne Division (Air Assault)

Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Specialists (CBRN) Soldiers with the 39th Brigade Support Battalion conducted joint training with the Bulgarian Army's 38th Chemical Battalion to show the CBRN capabilities and help grow for the future at Novo Selo Training Area, Bulgaria (NSTA) Sept. 20-29, 2022.

“I know from the outside looking in, it looks like we are just a bunch of crazy people running around in suits,” said Spc John Netherland, a CBRN Specialist in 39th BEB. “We are chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear specialists. Our job is to locate, mitigate, decon (decontaminate), and control areas that have had chemical warfare agent attacks or are of high risk because of these possibilities. What we do is we go in, mark off the area, take samples exploit the site, whether it be cell phones, actual liquid samples, or solid samples, take care of any casualties down on site, and bring back as much information we can back to higher up so we can show what our NATO allies should be on the lookout for.”

During the training, both countries taught classes on each step of their process in a CBRN situation. Going through classes of each step from mounted reconnaissance with Bulgarian vehicles to decontamination. Netherland was one of the U.S soldiers who taught how the U.S. runs decontamination lanes to the Bulgarians.

“This type of training will help us tremendously improve our skills for the future training and events coming up” Maj. Ilian Krastev, commander of the Bulgarian 38th chemical battalion.

This joint training helps prepare both countries to help NATO in any real-world scenario.

“They're training us up on their equipment and what their capabilities are and we're doing the same in return to get an overall picture of what we could handle on a battlefield.” Netherland continued, “So overall, we mainly focused on radiation, but we have trained them on chemical and biological threats as well. We're getting a good view of their equipment, their vehicles and their mounted capabilities, versus our dismounted, more technical side of sampling and everything like that.”

During this training, even with a translator, this gave both countries the challenge of working with a language barrier.

"It has been very cool working with the Bulgarians, having a translator out here is helpful, but it's also kind of a hindrance, not having the same language.”Netherland continued, “ trying to explain the more technical side of our job, through a translator, back over to them gets a little hairy sometimes because they don't have the same words and meanings to everything that we have, but it's been amazing. They are very knowledgeable. They're very eager to learn and train with our equipment and we love seeing theirs.”

• Date Taken: 09.29.2022
• Date Posted: 10.05.2022 04:27
• Story ID: 430621
• Location: NOVO SELO TRAINING AREA, BG
• Hometown: FORT CAMPBELL, KY, US
• Hometown: FORT CAMPBELL, TN, US