FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. — Soldiers in training with Company B, 84th Chemical Battalion, facilitated a mask confidence training event for trainees with Company A, 554th Engineer Battalion, March 28, 2026, at Fort Leonard Wood’s Mask Confidence Chamber at Training Area 106C.
The student-led event was designed to not only promote confidence in their equipment for the engineer Soldiers in training but also provide invaluable leadership experience to the 74D trainees who are Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear specialists.
“This is an excellent opportunity for our trainees to get extra reps and sets at what they are going to be doing when they leave from Fort Leonard Wood, they graduate (Advanced Individual Training) and we certify that they are CBRN Specialists,” said 2nd Lt. Olivia Santo, B Co. 84th Chem. Bn. executive officer. “When they get to their first unit this is the exact job that they’re going to do. They’re going to get to their unit and be one of the only 74Ds around and they’ll run their company of non-CBRN trained Soldiers through gas chambers.”
Pfc. Edward Reid, Co. B, 84th Chem. Bn., said it is more than just about boosting his confidence in being considered an expert in his field, it is also about seeing the bigger picture and knowing that he is responsible for others.
“It helps me appreciate my responsibility because I understand how much I’ll be taking on,” Reid said. “It will help me show the different MOSs how important it is to understand the safety aspect and how important the 74D is in regard to their day-to-day lives. I feel this is a great way to prepare me for it.”
Throughout the event, CBRN Soldiers in training led safety briefs and ran the engineer trainees through mask fit checks before taking them through the Mask Confidence Chamber where they completed a series of exercises and practiced breaking the seal and clearing their masks while exposed to CS gas.
Once through the chamber, CBRN trainees led them through the walk-around process and the proper procedures for cleaning their M50 protective masks.
Pvt. Bobby Throgmorton, Co. A, 554th Eng. Bn., said he appreciated the opportunity to participate in the training event and the chance to interact with peers from another MOS who are training to be subject matter experts in their field, a field he will depend on in the future.
“This lets us know that it’s not just our instructors, or the people who may be leading us, but the people we are going to be working beside and fighting beside. It’s good to know that we have people who learn about it and want to help people get out there and understand it, and that’s somebody I want to be with if it goes down,” Throgmorton said. “Every MOS has its own challenges and its own opportunities and learning what everyone else has to go through makes you respect the hard work they’re putting in to learn the MOS and their jobs.”
1st Lt. Matthias Williams, Co. A, 554th Eng. Bn. executive officer, said the combined training event was beneficial to both the engineers and CBRN specialists.
“It’s always good to interact with different units in their element where you can understand where their expertise can be leveraged,” said Williams. “In general, our jobs are incredibly complex especially when you’re in a combat environment, or even outside of it, there’s only going to be so much you able to know and at some point you’ll need an expert.”
Williams added, “It definitely shows how different branches can be synergetic with each other.”