Summer 2015
15
Six reconnaissance and surveillance platoons and two CRTs
were certifed during the CBRNE feld training exercise. The
secondary focus of the battalion during the second quarter
was on collective NBCRV gunnery. Other priorities includ-
ed the completion of DRSKO felding, driver's training, the
Combatives Level II Course, monthly weapons range exer-
cises, and Tactical Combat Casualty Care courses. In addi-
tion, leader development and certifcation continued.
The 23d CBRNE Battalion discovered that the stated pri-
orities for both quarters of the 6-month training cycle were
accompanied by training challenges which were unique to
Korea. To address the challenges associated with conducting
an internal battalion level NBCRV gunnery, the battalion
employed the 1ABCT master gunner to train three recon-
naissance and surveillance platoon sergeants and a des-
ignated battalion master gunner from the operations and
training (S-3) offce. But because assignments to the 23d
CBRNE Battalion are just 1 year in length, that approach
only resulted in a short-term solution. To increase conti-
nuity within NBCRV platoons, the 23d CBRNE Battalion
began providing funding for an eligible senior noncommis-
sioned offcer (NCO) to attend the Stryker Master Trainer
Course (held in the United States) if the NCO agreed to a
1-year extension of his or her tour in Korea. The NCO then
served as the Stryker master trainer in the S-3 offce for the
duration of the extension.
The felding of DRSKO also brought substantial train-
ing challenges to light. Occupational Safety and Health
Administration safety standards require that all Soldiers
operating in self-contained breathing apparatuses be cer-
tifed at the hazmat operations level. And the U.S. Army
Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear School
(USACBRNS) requires that advanced individual training
and Advanced Leader Course graduates be certifed at the
hazmat operations and technician levels. However, the 23d
CBRNE Battalion receives Soldiers who have not met these
requirements or whose certifcations could not be located in
the Department of Defense (DOD) Fire
and Emergency Services Certifcation
Program Lookup System (available at
). Furthermore,
the nearest location where hazmat op-
erations and hazmat technician level
certifcations can be obtained is the
U.S. Air Force Fire Emergency Service
at Osan Air Base—about a 2-hour drive
from Camp Stanley. The battalion con-
tinues to work with USACBRNS and
the U.S. Army Human Resources Com-
mand to ensure that assigned personnel
have obtained the necessary certifca-
tions and that the information has been
uploaded to their digital profles.
The battalion discovered that, due to
the high personnel turnover rate, main-
taining profciency levels comparable to
those observed in the United States was unrealistic. The 23d
CBRNE Battalion tackled the challenge of maintaining and
increasing the technical profciency levels of reconnaissance
and surveillance platoons and CRTs using a three-pronged
approach. First, the battalion chose to protect CRTs from
red-cycle taskings throughout the 6-month training cycle.
1
The CRTs were involved in green- and amber-cycle task-
ings; and during the amber cycles, they were called on, if
needed, to assist the red-cycle company. For example, the
CRTs covered numerous M9 pistol range taskings during
the 6-month training cycle because they had the experience
required for such taskings. The second means that the 23d
CBRNE Battalion used to increase the profciency levels of
reconnaissance and surveillance platoons and CRTs was
through the quarterly funding of stateside mobile training
teams. Depending on mobile training team availability, the
battalion funds training for Advanced Chemistry and Biol-
ogy, Advanced Radiation I and II, Hazardous Air Pollutants
On Site (HAPSITE)®, Portable Isotopic Neutron Spectros-
copy (PINS)®, and Target Recognition. And fnally, the 23d
CBRNE Battalion continues to identify personnel through-
out the formation who are master trainers on other techni-
cally demanding equipment. For example, CRT sergeants
are technically profcient on higher-level analytics, as are
explosive ordnance disposal team leaders on various robots.
Through the use of a certifcation checklist that includes
quarterly, semiannual, and annual testing requirements,
these identifed master trainers now certify rotational per-
sonnel in areas such as HAPSITE, PINS, and Throwbots®
(miniature reconnaissance robots) as they arrive at their as-
signed units.
Although the 23d CBRNE Battalion maintained prof-
ciency with its assigned mission-essential task list, it did not
do so without facing challenges that were unique to Korea.
Whether training for either of the two battalion wartime
missions or meeting "Fight Tonight" deployment readiness
requirements, adjustments for personnel turnover were con-
tinuous. The battalion discovered that the best way to adjust
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A U.S./Republic of Korea combined mission command at a simulated WMD
site