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
45 Winter 2016 By Mr. Stephen L. Standifird S eeing Sailors or Coast Guardsmen in Missouri, let alone on an Army installation, is an unusual sight, given that their mission is mostly water-based. But the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard received unique train- ing opportunities at the E. F. Bullene Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) Defense Training Facility of the U.S. Army Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nu- clear School (USACBRNS), Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. "This is the only place where the joint Services can do practical, hands-on, chemical-agent training," said the learning site director of the Navy Chemical, Biological and Radiological Defense School. "This is a vital part of our training for our Sailors." Navy and Coast Guard enlisted damage controlmen, Navy officers serving in the damage control assistant po- sition, and Coast Guard CBRN-explosive officers are the primary attendees of the 10-day Shipboard Chemical, Bio- logical, and Radiological–Defense Operations and Training Specialist Course. The course manager, a Navy chief, said that Sailors who attend the course are not training for a new job; they are training to expand job skills. Damage controlmen on a ship are primarily responsible for damage control; ship stabil- ity; firefighting; fire prevention; and chemical, biological, and radiological warfare defense. "Part of their job would be to assist and train the crew in proper donning and issue of equipment," the course manager said. "When they get to their ships, they will be the subject matter experts, even giv- en the short amount of training they have completed here," the learning site director added. To include more hands-on training with equipment, five additional days are expected to be added to the course, which averages 150 students per year. Using the CBRN Defense Training Facility for live-agent training is the final aspect of the course, and it gives the students an opportunity to put all of their training together and build confidence in their protective gear and detection equipment. For one Coast Guard Reserve lieutenant, the op- portunity to "go live" with a toxic nerve agent was a little bit scary. "You definitely get amped up a little bit . . . when you know there is live agent sitting on the table in front of you," he said. A damage controlman on the United States Ship (USS) Preble, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, agreed. "It's nerve-wracking because that's a live nerve agent," he said. "You read about all the things that can happen from this, and they drop it . . . [near] you." Getting the opportunity to go into the CBRN Defense Training Facility and train with live agents is an experience that the learning site director believes is the best way for Sailors and Coast Guardsmen to obtain realistic training and to get first-hand experience with effective techniques and equipment. "In my opinion, there is no replacement for that hands-on training. It is very valuable," he said. Besides the experience of working with a live agent, one participant said he would take the confidence gained in us- ing the equipment with him and try to pass that on to his crew. "My role is to glean what I can and take it back to develop a more robust training plan," he said. "My challenge now is to take that [knowledge] back with me and lead the training and make sure that my petty officers have that same confidence." Mr. Standifird is the assistant editor of the Guidon at the Public Affairs Office, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. A damage controlman performs a practice run before entering the CBRN Defense Training Facility to test live nerve agents.