Task Force Hellhound

Courtesy Photo | Members of TF Hellhound's Forensic Exploitation Lab process DNA at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, Jan. 17, 2019.  

KUWAIT

03.07.2019

Courtesy Story

U.S. Army Central   

Soldiers deployed around the globe face the threat of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), Improvised Explosive Devices (IED’s), conventional explosives and ordnance throughout the operational environment. To combat these threats, U.S. Army Central (USARCENT) pioneered the first USARCENT theater task force, "Task Force Hellhound", which includes Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) units within the U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) Area of Responsibility (AOR).

The name “Task Force Hellhound” was selected based on the three-headed dog, Cerberus, which represents each USCENTCOM named operations across the AOR. TF Hellhound is comprised of an EOD Battalion Headquarters, multiple EOD companies, a CBRN area support company, a mounted CBRN reconnaissance platoon, the Forensic Exploitation Lab – USCENTCOM (FXL-C), and the CBRNE Analytical Remediation Activity (CARA) Lab. These organizations provide support to large-scale combat operations by assessing, protecting and mitigating CBRNE hazards while providing biometric and forensic exploitation. By bringing these enablers together under one command, USARCENT will streamline support to USCENTCOM’s AOR including Operation Freedom Sentinel (OFS), Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) and Operation Spartan Shield (OSS).

Additionally, these enablers conduct security cooperation with partner nation forces within the USCENTCOM AOR to increase our partner nations' capability, capacity, and interoperability. Some of these security cooperation events include mutli-lateral exercises, bi-lateral exercises, humanitarian mine action training, and military-to-military subject matter expertise exchanges.

The EOD battalion is a functional mission command headquarters for EOD operations. The EOD battalion conducts staff planning and staff control of all counter-IED assets within a division area of operations. The EOD battalion is capable of conducting EOD mission command and supervision of EOD operations for two-to-seven EOD companies. The EOD battalion may be attached or OPCON (Operational Controlled) to a theater army, corps, division, JTF (Joint Task Force), or CJTF (Combined Joint Task Force) in support of a specific operation.
The CBRN Area Support Company provides CBRN reconnaissance, surveillance, and decontamination. Specifically, it provides the ability to locate, identify, and mark routes around contaminated areas and extent of contamination; biological surveillance and monitoring capability; operational and thorough decontamination support; and terrain, fixed site, and aircraft decontamination. They also provide CBRN technical support to the Mortuary Affairs Collection Company to assist with the mitigation and monitoring of contaminated human remains during the tentative identification process at the Mortuary Affairs Contaminated Remains Mitigation Site (MACRMS).
The CARA lab is operated by highly-skilled and certified scientists. It can help identify, confirm and provide analysis on CBRN hazards to support operational decisions. The lab provides a robust chemical agent near real-time air monitoring, biological analysis, biometric, fingerprint, DNA, and forensic analysis.

The EOD company is a critical enabler that brings a specialized set of knowledge, skills, and abilities to an AOR. Working in teams of two to three technicians, an EOD team provides the supported commander with the capability to render safe and dispose of all types of explosive ordnance, IEDs and homemade explosives. EOD provides technical information that contributes to the targeting process and allows for a rapid change in Tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) based on enemy activity. In addition, post blast investigations recover blast remnants and evidence enables commanders to gain a better understanding of the threats that their units are
encountering.

The FXL-C provides global forensic exploitation capabilities in support of the full range of military operations. Forensic exploitation provides undeniable scientific associations and biometric links between people, places, events and materials, thus taking away the anonymity of transnational threat actors and criminals.

The new streamlined TF Hellhound organization under one command will establish efficiencies in multiple areas by providing a battalion headquarters knowledgeable in their subordinate unit capabilities which is comprised of highly skilled and technical soldiers and civilians in support of USCENTCOM AOR.

• Date Taken: 03.07.2019
• Date Posted: 04.04.2019 09:49
• Story ID: 316227
• Location: KW