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KRIVOLAK, North Macedonia - U.S. Soldiers assigned to the 690th Chemical Battalion, 31st Chemical Brigade, Alabama National Guard, worked with the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia, Italian Army, and Armed Forces of Montenegro to conduct a series of sampling, reconnaissance, and decontamination interoperability exercises June 2-6, 2025, during Immediate Response 25, a large-scale, joint exercise with NATO Allies and partners at the Krivolak Training Area, Krivolak, North Macedonia, taking place May 26 to June 9, as part of DEFENDER 25, the U.S. Army’s premier large-scale deployment exercise in Europe.
Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosive (CBRNE) units are tasked with analyzing, handling, and decontaminating any CBRNE substances or devices reported in an area.
“Anything to do with personal protective equipment, detection to identify what we’re dealing with, and mitigation, which most people think of as decontamination,” said U.S. Army Brig. Gen. W Bochat, commanding general of the 20th CBRNE Command in Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, who came to see an iteration of the exercise. “And that’s for anything that is Chemical, Radiological, Biological, or Nuclear.”
During the exercise, the various joint teams performed reconnaissance to find and contain any identified contaminated sites.
“We are a dismounted reconnaissance unit or platoon, assigned to a decontamination unit, and the mission that we received today was to survey a particular area for a support unit and to set up decontamination,” said Sgt. 1st Class Julius Nettles, non-commissioned officer in charge of the exercise. “We were tasked to send our decon reconnaissance platoon out to survey the area to detect and advise on the substance.”
After the reconnaissance team found and reported a suspected contaminant, a sampling and retrieval team was sent to decontaminate the site, retrieve the substance for evidence, and secure the area.
“When we got on the site, the training mission for today was to identify the hazard, which was sarin gas, a nuclear agent that could possibly be in the area,” said Staff Sgt. Ariana O’Donnell, section leader. “Our job was to mitigate that, collect samples and evidence for prosecution, and send it up to our higher command.”
The Army of the Republic of North Macedonia and the Armed Forces of Montenegro rotated the mission sets involving handling decontamination of the sampling and reconnaissance teams, after the area was secured. The Army of the Republic of North Macedonia demonstrated different but effective techniques for decontamination operations, especially when it came to their preparedness, according to O’Donnell. This adds to the various techniques and skills that the nations exchanged during this interoperability exercise.
“I think they learned a lot. I think they shared some TTPs,” Bochat commented. “I know my troops have said, ‘we saw some things that we actually would like to incorporate into our standard operating procedures.’ I do think information sharing, sharpening some skills, and then just understanding the requirements of each other’s nations was key.”
Through this training, the U.S. Soldiers had to adapt to an unfamiliar environment, while still performing their tasks and duties to the highest standard. They had to face challenges and obstacles, including navigating the mountainous terrain, collaborating with nations that speak different languages and operating in an environment that they otherwise wouldn’t experience in the United States. It also gave service members from different NATO nations the chance to cooperate and learn various techniques and skills from their counterparts, which they can then implement in their operations.
“My favorite experience is just the ability to get out of the classroom and get on the ground in operating environments,” Nettles stated. “And really share information, whether it's training information, equipment, just understanding the various ways that they conduct the same mission that we conduct; that way, if we have an opportunity to work hand-in-hand, we understand their training and equipment, and they understand ours. This training gave us the opportunity to really operate in an environment that we will face if a mission or some type of operation presents itself.”
Demonstrating global deterrence and the U.S. Army’s ability to rapidly deploy U.S.-based combat power in Europe and the Arctic region alongside Allies and partners, DEFENDER 25 brings U.S. troops together with forces from 29 Allied and partner nations to build readiness through large-scale combat training from May 11-June 24, 2025. DEFENDER 25 increases the lethality of the NATO alliance through large-scale tactical training maneuvers and long-range fires, builds unit readiness in a complex joint, multinational environment and leverages host nation capabilities to increase the U.S. Army’s operational reach. During three large-scale combat training exercises—Swift Response, Immediate Response, and Saber Guardian—Ally and partner forces integrate and expand multi-domain operations capability, demonstrating combined command and control structures and readiness to respond to crisis and conflict.
| Date Taken: | 06.04.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 06.13.2025 10:41 |
| Story ID: | 500554 |
| Location: | MK |
| Web Views: | 50 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, U.S. Soldiers with the Alabama National Guard work with the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia, Italian Army, and Armed Forces of Montenegro to conduct a series of interoperability exercises, by PFC Raul Boamah, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
