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/759309
32 Army Chemical Review By Captain Philip J. Cline O n 23 July 2016, personnel from the 48th Chemi- cal Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas, and the U.S. Army Nuclear and Countering Weapons of Mass Destruc- tion Agency conducted a mission development and mission planning conference with the German Bundeswehr Chemi- cal, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) Defence Command staff. The goal of the conference was to discuss practical ways to create a combined staff at battalion and brigade levels to address the complex nature of countering weapons of mass destruction operations during the Dragon Fire Exercise that is scheduled for March 2017. The exercise is designed to be a joint exercise with the 48th Chemical Brigade; German Bundeswehr CBRN De- fence Command staff; and a variety of national, interna- tional, and interagency elements. Participants will conduct missions related to five objectives during the Dragon Fire Exercise. Each mission is designed to challenge the different unit elements by stressing the need to integrate the staffs into a cohesive organization that understands the mission as well as the various unit standard operating procedures and tactics, techniques, and procedures—whether tactical or technical in nature. This requires U.S. and German com- manders to build and implement task organization, tactical movement plans to and from objectives, actions on target, logistics, and the integration of combined staffs. To achieve this shared knowledge and cooperation, a tem- plate was designed to use a joint division level task orga- nization and to determine the required capabilities at bat- talion and brigade levels. The immediate challenge was to build a staff that ensured situational awareness, visibility, and understanding of the common operating picture and to maintain mission command through a 24-hour staff rota- tion during operations. As courses of actions were produced, daily briefings were held in the presence of battalion and brigade staff working groups and with the staffs of partici- pating nations. At the conclusion of this conference, the template could be used for future multinational operations regardless of the size of the elements participating. This would enable all na- tion staffs to interoperate during the planning and execution phases of operations. The template will be validated during the Dragon Fire Exercise. Captain Cline serves as the brigade assistant operations staff officer for the 48th Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas. He is a graduate of the CBRN Captain's Career Course and Techni- cal Escort Course. He holds bachelor's and degrees in business Webster University, Geneva, Swit-