Army Chemical Review presents professional information about Chemical Corps functions related to chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, smoke, flame, and civil support operations.
Issue link: https://chemical.epubxp.com/i/141522
The CBRN Force Design Update is in the fnal stages of staffng, and approval is anticipated by the end of the fscal year.
Once it is approved, the Regiment will begin a phased approach to the transformation. Initial changes will begin immediately.
The CBRN Warrant Offcer Program is also being revised to build the technical expertise required in the future force.
Warrant offcers will become the technicians and certifcation and standardization offcers placed in key positions throughout
the Regiment. Changes, which will begin immediately upon fnal approval from Headquarters, Department of the Army, include
the—
y
Removal of CBRN warrant offcers from non-CBRN tables of organization and equipment and their subsequent
placement in CBRN organizations.
y
Replacement of CBRN warrant offcers in feld artillery, air defense artillery, and military intelligence battalions with
CBRN lieutenants.
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Adoption of the following proposed structure:
Chief Warrant Offcer Two: CBRN companies and technical escort teams.
Chief Warrant Offcer Three: CBRN battalions; the 20th Support Command (Chemical, Biological, Radiological,
Nuclear, and High-Yield Explosives); division CBRN cells; the U.S. Army Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and
Nuclear School (USACBRNS); and the Maneuver Support Center of Excellence (MSCoE).
Chief Warrant Offcer Four: CBRN battalions, CBRN brigades, the MSCoE, and corps CBRN cells.
Chief Warrant Offcer Five: CBRN brigades and the USACBRNS.
Additional initiatives spanning doctrine, organization, training, materiel, leadership and education, personnel, and facilities
(DOTMLPF) domains will be added in the coming years as we prepare the Regiment for its roles in Army 2020 and Joint Force
2020.
As I write this article, weapons of mass destruction and CBRN hazards are making front-page news once again, with nuclear
testing in North Korea; ricin attacks in Washington, D.C.; the use of sarin in Syria; and the explosion of a fertilizer plant in Texas.
Now, more than ever, the Nation is counting on us to be prepared for, to prevent the use of, to protect against, to respond to, and
to recover from the accidental release or deliberate use of these hazards. I look forward to working with you as we transform
our Regiment from a legacy formation into a technically capable response force that is ready to defeat all hazards and material
threats and to counter weapons of mass destruction well ahead of 2020.
On a fnal note, our Regiment, in its 95th year, is proud to announce two frsts: On 30 May 2013, Major General Thomas W.
Spoehr, our Regiment's senior ranking offcer, became the frst Chemical offcer to be nominated for promotion to Lieutenant
General. Additionally, on 7 June 2013, Major General Leslie C. Smith became the frst Chemical offcer to command the
MSCoE, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. Please join me in congratulating these two pioneers in our Regiment!
Elementus Regamus Proelium!
Endnotes:
Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defense, DOD, January 2012,