Photo By Spc. Richard Carlisi | Soldiers from the 110th Chemical Battalion load vehicles onto rail cars as part of a...... read more read more
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By Sgt. 1st Class Tony White
593rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. – The movement of equipment and personnel from one location to another can test any organization, but conducting it without warning and having to complete it in a short suspense, tightens the screws even more.
The 110th Chemical Battalion was put to the test here, tasked with deploying more than 200 Soldiers and all of their necessary equipment within a week as part of an emergency deployment readiness exercise to Fort Knox, Kentucky, April 17, 2021.
“This training affords our unit a great opportunity for leaders and Soldiers to exercise the processes and procedures necessary to rapidly deploy our organization and support the Nation’s requirements to respond to contingency operations,” said Lt. Col. Julia Brennan, the 110th Chemical Battalion commander. “We are better trained and have gained valuable experience with the execution of this EDRE.”
Through preparing for the exercise, the organization was already able to identify takeaways to increase unit readiness going forward, Brennan said.
“We have identified some gaps in training and certifications we will focus on incorporating into our training calendars and guidance upon our return to home station, enabling us to retain as much proficiency in deployment operations as possible,” she said. “We look forward to learning more during the tactical training portion and redeployment activities.”
The effect of the no-notice exercise impacted down to the foundation for the battalion, challenging leaders and Soldiers to ensure mission readiness to mobilize forward.
“For our battalion this is huge,” said Capt. Brian Mitchell, the 110th Chemical Battalion
S-4 logistics officer. “We have added emphasis because this is a higher-level exercise, so there is a bit more visibility than normally.
“There is definitely a shorter flash to bang,” continued the native of Woodbridge, Virginia, describing the nature of an EDRE. “It is very important we are communicating and delegating, trying to properly utilize the personnel in my section. That is the challenge.”
As leaders and Soldiers came to grips with the challenges here, it was important the Soldiers and leaders understood the mission at hand, Brennan added.
“Our message has focused on preparing equipment and Soldiers for expeditionary movements and austere training environments,” said Brennan. “We must continue to train despite COVID-19, however, safety is paramount. We include COVID mitigation measures in all our activities, and the command continues to actively mitigate risk to force at all times”
With the COVID-19 guidelines in effect, the battalion brings a unique skillset to mission capabilities, consisting of Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear and Explosive Ordnance Disposal troops, partnering with government agencies and combatant commands to counter the full range of CBRNE threats.
Each Crisis Response Team has the capacity to handle a variety of challenging missions, including initial sampling, limited decontamination, packaging, escorting, detection, munitions assessment, explosive threat mitigation, and contaminated sensitive site exploitation.
“Our Soldiers operate in diverse and complex operating environments as technically skilled teams that will enable freedom of action for maneuver units, special operations forces, and interagency partners through the execution of CBRNE operations in support of large-scale combat operations and we plan on taking advantage of this deployment to test our capabilities once we arrive at our deployment location.”
| Date Taken: | 04.17.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 04.27.2021 15:28 |
| Story ID: | 394908 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 643 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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