DTRA Readies Senegal for Regional CWMD Response Role

Photo By Darnell Gardner | DAKAR, Senegal - The Defense Threat Reduction Agency’s (DTRA) Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD) Security Cooperation Engagement Program (CSCEP) will conclude a 6-year cooperative Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) Preparedness and Response training program with the Senegalese National Fire Brigade’s, Sapeur Pompiers CBRN Unit in September 2021. DTRA has worked closely with Senegal to enable an active CBRN Response Framework, National Response Plan, and Command and Control system that are capable of an effective CBRN response and of mitigating hazardous threats within Senegal’s borders.  

DAKAR, SENEGAL

09.07.2021

Story by Darnell Gardner 

Defense Threat Reduction Agency

DAKAR, Senegal -- The Defense Threat Reduction Agency’s (DTRA) Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD) Security Cooperation Engagement Program (CSCEP) will conclude a 6-year cooperative Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) Preparedness and Response training program with the Senegalese National Fire Brigade’s, Sapeur Pompiers CBRN Unit in September 2021.

Building on the Pompiers’ successes during Senegal’s participation in June’s AFRICAN LION exercise, this milestone event marks the unit’s transition from a building phase to its sustainment as a trained and ready CBRN response organization. This effort will culminate with a ceremony at the Senegalese National Fire Brigade’s in Dakar, Senegal, on September 10, 2021, to commemorate the period of cooperation.
The Sapeur Pompiers CBRN unit will continue to partner, at a peer-level, with additional U.S. organizations, including the Vermont National Guard (VTNG) State Partnership Program. Through these linkages, the unit can ensure this critical CBRN response capability stays ahead of emerging threats.

DTRA has worked closely with Senegal to enable an active CBRN Response Framework, National Response Plan, and Command and Control system that are capable of an effective CBRN response and of mitigating hazardous threats within Senegal’s borders. The team capitalized on this final engagement to validate the Brigade’s standard operating procedures and confirm operational status of all equipment. The Fire Brigade is now capable of fully assessing hazardous sites, conducting dismounted reconnaissance, initiating sampling of known and unknown CBRN materials, and conducting mass casualty decontamination. These skills will better enhance Senegal’s national-level Emergency Operations Center response capacity.

Senegal will continue to train and prepare forces for CBRN response operations and to support the CWMD mission under U.S. Africa Command’s Theater Campaign Plan Lines of Effort to Counter Transnational Threats. This program supports the State Department’s Integrated Country Strategy objectives to ensure participating countries remain significant partners in regional and international security. These efforts will ensure our partners are capable of securing their respective borders as well as preventing the proliferation of WMD and the illicit transfer of related materials.

DTRA has supported U.S. Africa Command’s Security Cooperation efforts since 2015 to include related efforts in Morocco and Kenya, with all efforts concluding by the end of 2021. At that time, all three nations will serve
as regional leaders in Africa for responding to CBRN incidents and supporting the overall CWMD mission.

For more information on DTRA’s building partnership capacity efforts, go to DTRA.mil.

DTRA enables Department of Defense, the U.S. Government, and International Partners to counter and deter Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) and Emerging Threats.

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• Date Taken: 09.07.2021
• Date Posted: 09.07.2021 14:46
• Story ID: 404632
• Location: DAKAR, SN