U.S. ARMY CHEMICAL, BIOLOGICAL, RADIOLOGICAL AND NUCLEAR SCHOOL (USACBRNS)

The USACBRNS commandant serves as the commandant and chief of Chemical and Joint Combat Developer. The commandant is responsible for ensuring that the vision for the CBRN profession and regiment is nested and consistent with the CG’s and MSCoE. The commandant serves as the Chemical Branch proponent with primary responsibility for training, leader development and personnel for the branch and works to integrate those into and across DOTMLPF concerns for the branch. The commandant focuses on the needs of the Chemical Force while teaming with the other commandants and the DtCG to recommend to the CG changes to doctrine, organizational and materiel solutions. Using military expertise, the commandant is responsible to the CG to exercise internal lead, in concert with the DtCG (in the dual-hatted CDID SES role), for development and integration of the following: CM force structure and capabilities development for homeland defense, CBRN passive defense and CBRN consequence management. The commandant may speak and brief on behalf of the CG for the same areas. The commandant has primary responsibility for the subordinate brigade — 3rd Chemical (CM) Brigade (BDE). The commandant is responsible for chemical surety but has a requirement for reporting through the center.

3rd Chemical Brigade

1. Soldier Training

• Initial Entry Training transforms civilians into Soldiers through 10 weeks of Basic Combat Training. This gender-integrated training is conducted by 1st Battalion, 48th Infantry Regiment; 2nd Battalion, 48th Infantry Regiment; 2nd Battalion, 10th Infantry Regiment; and 3rd Battalion, 10th Infantry Regiment to produce values-based, disciplined Soldiers trained in basic skills, warrior tasks and battle drills, and are fully prepared for Advanced Individual Training. New recruits learn the basics of soldiering, e.g. rifle marksmanship, patrolling operations, military operations in urban terrain, drill and ceremony, and basic operations in a field environment. After its successful completion, Soldiers receive their military occupational skill training through attendance at the AIT course where they learn the technical skills required of their MOS, while at the same time applying warrior skills.
• CBRN Advanced Individual Training, or AIT: The USACBRNS produces CBRN-trained Soldiers for the Army through an 11-week AIT program that provides the foundation that will allow these Soldiers to immediately contribute to their first unit of assignment. The 84th Chemical Battalion is the gateway for all CBRN Soldiers entering the Army. The battalion produces technically and tactically proficient Soldiers proficient in the fundamentals of Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear operations. The training includes initial instruction on a variety of CBRN systems in the Army inventory, to include: the Stryker NBCRV (Nuclear, Radiological, Chemical Reconnaissance Vehicle); the Fox Reconnaissance Vehicle; the BIDS (Biological Identification Detection System); various smoke-generating devices; and various decontamination systems and procedures.
• Transportation AIT: The USASCBRNS produces Soldiers not only for the Chemical Corps but also for the Transportation Corps. The 58th Transportation Battalion receives basic training graduates from across the Army, who are designated to become transportation Soldiers, and provides the training necessary to produce motor transport operators capable of driving 5-ton tactical vehicles, petroleum supply vehicles and over-the-road semitrailers.

2. Leader Training

• CBRN officers and noncommissioned officers (NCOs) attend basic, advanced, and specialty CBRN training at Fort Leonard Wood. Instruction focuses on warfare tactics, leadership, combined arms and joint operations, and operations in a CBRN-contaminated environment. International officers from more than 80 countries participate in the leader training programs here at the CBRN School.

3. Specialty Training

• The Civil Support Skills Course is an eight-week course that provides baseline training to the officers and enlisted personnel assigned to a Civil Support Team (CST) in the areas of Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) detection, identification and emergency response as it pertains to a weapons of mass destruction (WMD) incident/event. Introduces individuals to the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTP) when planning, operating, and sustaining the force during a WMD incident, as a part of the Incident Management/Command System.
• CBRN Responder is a two-week course that provides baseline training to the officers and enlisted personnel who may respond to hazardous materials/WMD incidents to the Hazardous Materials Technician level. The training meets requirements set by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
• Mass Casualty Decontamination Course is 10 days in length. This course trains personnel in units assigned to CBRNE Enhanced Response Force Packages (CERFPs), Homeland Response Forces (HRFs), the Defense CBRN Response Force (DCRF), and Command and Control CBRN Response Element (C2CRE) missions within the CBRN Response Enterprise. Training includes familiarization on personal protective equipment (PPE), emergency response in-transit procedures, planning for and selecting mass casualty decontamination sites, and conducting and processing casualties through a mass casualty decontamination site.
• CBRN Dismounted Recon is a two-week course that provides baseline training to the officers and enlisted personnel assigned to Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT) CBRN reconnaissance platoons, Special Forces Chemical Reconnaissance Detachment (CRD), CS Chemical Company Decontamination platoons, any Army organizations designated to deploy and serve in the dismounted reconnaissance capacity and other service components in the areas of CBRN detection, identification and emergency response as it pertains to WMD, tactical battlefield hazards, Chemical/Biological/Radiological (CBR) improvised devices and installation CBRN protection. The course introduces individuals to the tactics, techniques and procedures (TTP) when planning, operating and sustaining the force during tactical operations.
• Technical Escort Course is 4.5 weeks in length and provides enhanced tactical training in CBRNE assessment, disablement, elimination, escort, and site remediation/restoration in support of combatant commanders and lead federal agencies.
• NBC Reconnaissance for Brigade Combat Teams is a six-week course that is designed to train officer and enlisted personnel to be Stryker CBRN Reconnaissance vehicle crewmembers in a Heavy Brigade Combat CBRN Reconnaissance Platoon, Stryker Brigade Combat Team CBRN Reconnaissance Platoon and Chemical Company (Maneuver Support) CBRN Reconnaissance Platoon. The Nuclear Biological Chemical Reconnaissance Vehicle (NBCRV) is used in the entire depth of the battle space and will support all levels of war. The system will detect, identify, and sample threat chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear hazards and selected toxic industrial chemicals (TICs) and toxic industrial materials (TIMs). The platform will determine the limits of and mark contaminated areas and will provide situational awareness through digital CBRN warning and reporting.
• Biological Integrated Detection System (BIDS) Operators Course – is one week and four days in length and trains enlisted (74D) and officer (AOC 74A) personnel to operate BIDS Joint Biological Point Detection System (JBPDS) M31A2.
• Radiological Safety training: The Radiological Laboratory provides courses on basic and advanced radiological safety, and radiological packaging.
• The Joint Senior Leaders Course (JSLC) provides a solid foundation on which DOD senior leaders and flag officers can establish CBRN readiness programs. The JSLC is focused on the operational and strategic level of military and homeland CBRN defense and response operations. Instruction includes special topics presented by experts in the chemical, biological and nuclear defense community, as well as toxic chemical agent training at the Chemical Defense Training Facility.

4. Reserve Component Training

• The USACBRNS 3rd Chemical Brigade provides Initial Military Training (IMT) for all CBRN Soldiers in the United States Army Reserve and National Guard. Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development System (NCOPDS) and MOS-Transition (MOS-T) institutional training for reserve component Soldiers is instructed by the Army Reserve Chemical Total Army School System (TASS) 3rd Chemical Brigade/102nd Training Division throughout the year. The Reserve Component CBRN Captains Career Course (RC-CMC3) is offered twice each training year by the USACBRNS Drilling Individual Mobilization Augmentees (DIMA) cadre. Under the One Army School System (OASS), the NCOES, MOS-T and RC-CMC3 courses will be available for Soldiers of all components.

5. Facilities

• The USACBRNS training facilities are the finest of their kind in the world. Soldiers from all services, including allies from more than 80 countries, train at these facilities, including the Chemical Defense Training Facility (CDTF), Chemical Applied Training Facility (CATF), the Edwin R. Bradley Radiological Laboratory, and the FOX and BIDS simulation centers.
• The CDTF uses toxic chemical agent to train military, DOD civilian and foreign CBRN specialists on operations in a toxic chemical environment. This training demonstrates the reliability of U.S. chemical protective and decontamination equipment, which builds confidence and helps CBRN warfare specialists overcome fear of operating in chemically contaminated environments. The Fort Leonard Wood CDTF continues the tradition begun by the CDTF at Fort McClellan, Alabama. Since 1987, the two facilities have trained more than 75,000 students from all services and 26 foreign countries while maintaining a perfect safety record.
• The CATF centralizes the classroom and hands-on instruction for decontamination operations. This facility boasts a variety of decontamination equipment and vehicles used by all armed services to practice decontamination techniques. CBRN specialists learn the basics of how to properly maintain and decontaminate equipment and personnel in a contaminated environment.
• The Edwin R. Bradley Radiological Laboratory is a unique training facility and holds a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. This facility is the only one in the Army that qualifies individuals in Installation Radiological Protection, Control and Safety, a program that includes maintenance, storage and calibration of radiation indication and computation instruments and radioactive material in installation shops and warehouses.
• The BIDS Training Facility exemplifies major advances in the last five years in our nation’s ability to detect and identify biological agents and attacks. Training in this facility allows instructors to observe, hear and tape all operations conducted during simulate agent detection using computer simulators, workstations and communications systems all designed to ensure that our Soldiers receive the most realistic training and evaluation possible.
• The Lt. Terry CBRN Responder Training Facility was designed to provide for National Guard CST-WMD teams, U.S. Army USACBRNS units with the domestic homeland response mission, DOD emergency response teams, technical escort operations and the Special Forces Chemical Reconnaissance Detachment training. The joint training facility includes CBRN-WMD first-responder individual and certification training and was named in honor of 1st Lt. Joseph Terry.
• The Chemical Corps Museum is part of the MSCoE tri-museum complex. The museum features thousands of artifacts, state-of-the-art exhibits and immersion dioramas. Visitors can follow the history of the Chemical Corps from its organization during World War I to the present day.