Army Chemical Review

WINTER 2016

Army Chemical Review presents professional information about Chemical Corps functions related to chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, smoke, flame, and civil support operations.

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50 Army Chemical Review C ompany C, 84th Chemical Battalion, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, produces extraordinary and resil- ient chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) Soldiers by employing challenging situational training exercises that incorporate program of instruction requirements, warrior tasks, and battle drills. All CBRN Soldiers depart advanced individual training (AIT) at Company C with the technical and tactical expertise re- quired to be an immediate force multiplier for their as- signed units. The students experience 10 weeks of intense classroom and field training exercises in order to become experts in their field. Most CBRN Soldiers are the only sub- ject matter experts in their Branch-specific job—Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) 74D, CBRN Specialist—at their gaining unit. One of the first blocks of instruction on which Dragon Soldiers train is Chemical and Biological Defense. The criti- cal areas that are trained in the Chemical and Biological Defense block are— • Improved Chemical Agent Monitor. • Chemical agent detectors. • M4 Series Joint Chemical Agent Detector. • Technical advice on chemical agents and compounds. • Protection with Joint Service, Lightweight, Integrated Suit Technology. • First aid for a nerve agent casualty. • Chemical operation field training. Students receive classroom instruction and scenario- based practical exercises to reinforce and apply terminal learning objectives. At the end of the Chemical and Bio- logical Defense block, a chemical operations test is admin- istered. The next block of instruction on which Company C AIT students train to become extraordinary technical and tac- tical professionals is Biological Operations. This block con- sists of a blend of classroom instruction; crawl, walk, and run practical exercises; and a field training simulation to put students' expert skills to use. The critical areas that are trained in the Biological Operations block are— • Basic biological concepts and human anatomy. • Biological warfare. • Biological agent dissemination. • Effects of weather and terrain on biological agents. • Biological defense fundamentals. • Biological sampling with the Department of Defense bio- logical sampling kit. At the end of the Biological Operations block, the stu- dents are tested on all material and must pass each section to move on to the next block of instruction. The students are trained, tested, and developed into technical and tactical subject matter experts who become force multipliers at their gaining units. The next step in the MOS 74D AIT CBRN warrior devel- opment process involves 40 hours of Radiological Training, which consists of classroom training, practical exercises, and a field training exercise. The critical areas are— • Radiation fundamentals and nuclear weapon effects. • Radiological weapon terrorism. • Radiological instruments. • CBRN 1 and CBRN 4 radiological and nuclear reports. • Simplified radiological and nuclear hazard area predic- tions. • Radiological monitoring and survey. A culminating test is administered at the end of the block of instruction. Upon successful completion of radiation training, students receive certificates of completion and are designated radiation safety experts. Successfully complet- ing radiation safety allows these CBRN Soldiers to become subject matter experts and battalion and brigade staff ad- visers to senior leaders. In no other branch do enlisted Ser- vice members report directly to the commander or the senior leader on staff. Another aspect of warrior training incorporated by Com- pany C, 84th Chemical Battalion, is the implementation of the High-Physical-Demand Training. There are eight tasks on which AIT Soldiers train to further their tactical and technical expertise specific to their Branch. The tasks are— • Continuously wear Mission-Oriented Protective Posture Level 4 for up to 3 hours during a mock operation. • Perform CBRN operations in Mission-Oriented Protec- tive Posture 4 in full combat load for an extended mission. • Operate and perform preventive maintenance checks and services on the diesel water pump with a capacity of 125 gallons per minute. • Operate the M12A1 diesel engine-driven decontamina- tion apparatus.

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