Francis S. Gabreski ANGB, N.Y., (Feb. 6, 2018) – Airmen of the 106th Rescue Wing assigned to the New York Air National Guard, took part in Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosive (CBRNE) training Feb. 3 and 4, 2018, on base.
The training was conducted by the Emergency Management Flight of the 106th Rescue Wing and served as a refresher to prepare for a CBRNE exercise scheduled for early spring.
Training like this is critical, said Staff Sgt. Francisco A. Viera Pereira, an emergency management specialist with the Mission Support Group. It gets members ready and better prepared for deployment.
While wearing Mission Oriented Protective Posture (MOPP) gear, Airmen went through four sections where they were instructed on CBRNE essentials like checking gas-mask functionality, examining contamination monitoring stations, identifying unexploded ordinance and responding to and reporting their findings.
The largest section was the Contamination Control Area (CCA) where members walked through five stations that demonstrated the process of decontamination.
Walking through a CCA helps members understand what will happen if they’re contaminated and increases their situational confidence, said Viera Pereira. Increasing confidence in skills and in equipment is the goal of training like this.
Approximately 500 Airmen attended four training sessions that were conducted over two-days.