American, South Korean nuclear teams leverage expertise at Idaho National Laboratory

Courtesy Photo | Republic of Korea Nuclear Characterization Team members conduct external reconnaissance of a mock nuclear facility. U.S. Army Nuclear Disablement Team 2 members trained with Republic of Korea NCT members at the Idaho National Laboratory in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Photo by Meghan Fujimoto, Idaho National Laboratory.  

IDAHO FALLS, ID, UNITED STATES

10.17.2023

Story by Walter Ham  

20th CBRNE Command

IDAHO NATIONAL LABORATORY, Idaho – American and South Korean troops leveraged the expertise at America’s premier nuclear research facility during a training course, Oct. 2 - 14.

The U.S. Army Nuclear Disablement Teams and Republic of Korea Armed Forces Nuclear Characterization Teams completed the Nuclear Infrastructure, Assessment and Disablement Course at Idaho National Laboratory.

From South Korea, NCT 1 and NCT 2 participated in the course while the U.S. Army’s NDT 2 and NDT 3 observed the training with support from the Operations Directorate’s Training, Readiness and Exercise Section (G37) from the 20th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives (CBRNE) Command.

In support of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency’s Cooperative Threat Reduction Directorate, the U.S. Army NDT members observe the South Korean NCT members in select training events.

U.S. Army NDT members join with their NCT counterparts, cooperating and sharing their knowledge in planning, detector employment techniques, battle tracking, decontamination procedures and other aspects of nuclear infrastructure exploitation operations.

There have been numerous partnership events between the teams since 2018.

The American and South Korean nuclear teams differ in their unit composition and mission. The South Korean teams include Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) personnel from the ROK Army, ROK Navy and ROK Air Force who are part of the joint ROK CBRN Defense Command.

Another difference is that the U.S. Army Nuclear Disablement Teams are also trained for the unique mission of disablement that disrupts the nuclear fuel cycle and keeps adversaries from obtaining nuclear weapons.

The three U.S. Army NDTs are the only units of their kind in the U.S. military. The NDTs are part of the Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland-headquartered 20th CBRNE Command.

From 19 bases in 16 states, American Soldiers and U.S. Army civilians from 20th CBRNE Command take on the world’s most dangerous hazards in support of joint, interagency and allied operations around the world.

In addition to the NDTs, the 20th CBRNE Command is home to 75 percent of the active-duty U.S. Army’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians and CBRN specialists, as well as the 1st Area Medical Laboratory, CBRNE Analytical and Remediation Activity and five Weapons of Mass Destruction Coordination Teams.

Maj. Zachary R. Scott, who served as the lead planner for the event, said the NIAC course serves as the primary technical training that the ROK NCTs conduct every year.

“The Nuclear Disablement Teams also conduct similar training each year at the same location,” said Scott. “Scenarios developed for NIAC focus the NCTs on real-world scenarios that could occur in a potential future conflict on the peninsula. Their training and our training mirror each other, and as such, both teams are able to share Tactics, Techniques and Procedures to accomplish the mission in a more efficient and effective manner.”

Scott said the NIAC training course forges a shared understanding of technical capabilities while creating greater logistical and tactical interoperability.

“By observing and providing feedback to the NCTs during their realistic scenario-based training, the NCTs and NDTs developed a deeper understanding of each other’s methods, objectives and intent when approaching different technical problem sets,” said Scott.

The NIAC course made both teams more capable of accomplishing their high stakes missions, said Scott, adding that the NCTs learned some new methods of protecting their equipment from potential contamination.

“We, the NDTs, were quite impressed with the thoroughness and attention to detail the NCTs displayed during this training,” said Scott. “Ultimately, this training benefits both teams and both nations collectively as being familiar with each other and our respective techniques shortens the amount of time required to synchronize actions on an objective.”

A native of Stevens Point, Wisconsin, and Afghanistan veteran, Scott previously served as a Chemical Corps officer before becoming a Nuclear and Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction officer (FA 52) to become a subject matter expert in the field.

As frontline warriors who directly contribute to the nation’s strategic deterrence, U.S. Army NDTs exploit and disable nuclear and radiological WMD infrastructure and components to deny near-term capability to adversaries and they facilitate follow-on WMD elimination operations.

NDT members also serve with U.S. Army CBRNE Response Teams in the FBI-led interagency National Technical Nuclear Forensic Task Force on a rotational basis.

As the ROK-U.S. Alliance marks the 70th anniversary of its mutual defense treaty this month, the teams from the 20th CBRNE Command and ROK CBRN Defense Command continue to strengthen their long-standing partnership that has been forged in exercises and events.

• Date Taken: 10.17.2023
• Date Posted: 10.17.2023 12:44
• Story ID: 455973
• Location: IDAHO FALLS, ID, US
• Hometown: STEVENS POINT, WI, US