Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Armando Vasquez | A Soldier from the 50th Chemical Company, 42nd Regional Support Group, New Jersey Army...... read more read more
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Approximately 45 Soldiers from the 50th Chemical Co., 42nd Regional Support Group, New Jersey Army National Guard spent two weeks at Zall-Herr, Albania, to conduct annual training alongside soldiers from the Albanian Armed Forces and Kosovo Security Forces, May 16-26, 2023.
The “Dragons” provided chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear training, as well as mentorship and knowledge-sharing with AAF counterparts, with whom the NJNG has shared more than two decades of friendship through the Department of Defense State Partnership Program.
“We fulfilled the 50th Chemical Co.’s mission essential tasks lists, while also integrating, training and collaborating with Albanian and Kosovo chemical units to help their ability to perform military CBRN tasks,” said U.S. Army Capt. Matt Armstrong, commander of the 50th Chemical Co. “These tasks include troop and equipment decontamination, CBRN reconnaissance and surveillance and biological detection.”
According to Army Sgt. Hope Satour, CBRN specialist with the 50th Chemical Co., her unit provided instructional classes on the biological integrated detection systems and the process to decontaminate equipment and personnel after a chemical attack. Additionally, Albanian and Kosovar soldiers trained hands-on with an M1152A1 BIDS vehicle and an M26 Joint Service Transportable Decontamination System Small Scale.
“Soldiers from our RECON, DECON, and BIDS platoon taught classes on the specifics of our jobs,” she said. “Then we conducted an exercise showing our NATO counterparts how we would apply these skills in a real world scenario.”
The training preceded the AAF and KSF’s participation in the Dynamic Employment of Forces to Europe for NATO Deterrence and Enhanced Readiness 2023 exercise. DEFENDER 23 is a multinational joint exercise running from April 22 to June 23 and is designed to build readiness and interoperability between U.S. and NATO Allies and partners.
“This experience was an amazing way for us as a National Guard unit to put our training and expertise to use,” said Satour. “The ultimate goal of our job is to hopefully never have to use it but getting the chance to show others, especially in another country, is something a lot of us will never forget.”
The Department of Defense’s State Partnership Program is managed and administered by the National Guard Bureau, and is a U.S.-sponsored security cooperation program that supports the security cooperation objectives of the United States and the geographic combatant commands by developing enduring relationships with partner countries and carrying out activities to build partner capacity, improve interoperability, and enhance U.S. access and influence, while increasing the readiness of U.S. and partner forces to meet emerging challenges.
| Date Taken: | 06.04.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 06.04.2023 14:21 |
| Story ID: | 446165 |
| Location: | ZALL-HERR, AL |
| Web Views: | 110 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Instruct, Mentor, and Collaborate, by SFC Armando Vasquez, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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