Photo By Marshall Mason | Maj. Daniel S. Godlasky, a nuclear operations officer with the 20th Chemical,...... read more read more
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__Soldiers, airmen validate readiness during FBI-led nuclear forensics exercise__
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – U.S. Soldiers and airmen trained during an interagency nuclear forensics exercise in the Colorado Springs, Colorado area, June 8 - 12.
Exercise Prominent Hunt is an annual interagency exercise led by the FBI that features the National Technical Nuclear Forensics (NTNF) Ground Collection Task Force, which would support the investigation of an unattributed nuclear detonation on U.S. soil.
The NTNF Ground Collection Task Force’s mission is to collect samples of debris near the site of a nuclear detonation for follow-on analysis at the national laboratories.
The goal is to ultimately identify the perpetrators, so the FBI can open an investigation and bring the criminals to justice by using the evidentiary samples collected by the task force.
The task force is comprised of members of Department of Justice - FBI, Department of War, the Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration, state and local law enforcement and emergency response services.
Soldiers from the Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland-based 20th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives (CBRNE) Command and airmen from the Patrick Space Force Base, Florida-based Air Force Technical Application Center (AFTAC) provide support for this FBI-led exercise.
The task force gathers and packages simulated samples of radioactive fallout, which enable partner agencies to determine the source of the radiation.
As part of their mission, airmen from AFTAC are trained to conduct assessments on the ground and in the air and then forward the samples to a network of laboratories for analysis.
In addition to supporting the task force, AFTAC provides national authorities with technical measurements to monitor nuclear-treaty compliance.
Soldiers with the 20th CBRNE Command’s Weapons of Mass Destruction Coordination Teams (WCT) and Nuclear Infrastructure Exploitation (NIX) teams use this exercise to validate their readiness to serve on the task force.
The 20th CBRNE Command is also home to the majority of the U.S. Army’s active-duty Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear (CBRN) specialists and 75 percent of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) units, as well as the 1st Global Field Medical Laboratory and CBRNE Analytical and Remediation Activity.
From 19 bases in 16 states, Soldiers and Army civilians from the 20th CBRNE Command take on the world’s most dangerous hazards.
The role of Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration is to provide scientific and technical support to the Ground Collection Task Force, said Patrick Ragen, the operations program manager for the NNSA.
“This has been a great week of training for all of us, said Ragen. “The DOE supports the ground collection task force by sending down-range support to enable the collectors to find the right type of debris to analyze.”
“We bring those samples back and run them though our quality assurance processing line to ensure the samples meet the quality standards needed for further analysis in the attribution efforts,” Ragen said.
The Colorado Springs area was an ideal location to conduct a nuclear forensics sample collection mission, according to FBI-Denver Special Agent in Charge Amanda M. Koldjeski.
“Colorado Springs has vast mountains with different critical infrastructure and military bases,” said Koldjeski. “We get to train extensively with our Department of War, Department of Energy and local law enforcement partners.”
“It is critical that we continue to exercise with our partners on Prominent Hunt to ensure that if something terrible were to happen, we are well-trained and ready to conduct our roles efficiently and effectively, said Koldjeski.
| Date Taken: | 06.12.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 06.13.2026 11:49 |
| Story ID: | 567744 |
| Location: | COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO, US |
| Web Views: | 57 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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