Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Solomon Navarro | Keith Weatherspoon Jr., a chemical-biological software integrator with U.S. Africa...... read more read more
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NAIROBI, Kenya -- Imagine two scenarios.
Scenario 1: Dawn breaks over the capital of Kenya. A U.S. diplomat leaves his residence for the embassy. After a 20-minute ride, his car arrives at the gate and he enters. He sits in his office to begin the day when, all of a sudden, he hears an explosion through the open window. It seems far off; it is not a large explosion. He thinks maybe it was just a car accident, but minutes later he smells something bitter in the air. His eyes water, sirens blare and a U.S. Marine Corps security detail enters his office wearing gas masks. They put a mask on him and tell him they must evacuate immediately because a deadly chemical is blowing over the compound.
Scenario 2: U.S. intelligence receives credible information that radiological material is being loaded onto a ship in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa. Time is short and no one knows which ship, only that it will embark soon, possibly bound for the hands of violent extremists or other state actors looking to imperil the U.S. homeland. There is no time to send U.S. security forces to intercept the package. Instead, the Kenyan Disaster Response Battalion (DRB) mobilizes and arrives at the port. Using tactics and tools gained from years of training with the United States, they find the ship and the weapon, placed there by a violent extremist organization, and prevent its departure, defeating the threat to America and its citizens.
Similar scenarios have happened before in other areas of the world.
This is why a team of highly trained U.S. Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) experts participated in exercise Justified Accord 2025 (JA25) in Kenya to train together with Kenyan and Tanzanian CBRN military personnel.
A key component of this effort is the 12-year relationship the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) has fostered with the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF).
“The goal of the relationship is rooted in a common desire to foster a CBRN response relationship in the region that enhances protection for the civilian population,” said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Eric Geiger, officer in charge for DTRA, U.S. Africa Command’s Technical Support Group. “This simultaneously empowers Kenya as they prepare to resolve any disaster, incident or crisis.”
CBRN defense is a critical component of military preparedness, involving hazard detection, protection and mitigation. U.S., Kenyan and Tanzanian militaries, like most militaries, have specialized units and equipment dedicated to CBRN operations, including the use of protective gear, detection systems and decontamination procedures. These efforts safeguard troops and civilians from the harmful effects of CBRN agents in various operational environments.
The effects of CBRN weapons can be devastating.
The lasting impact to human suffering and the environment can leave communities, buildings, neighborhoods and towns completely uninhabitable. The capability to detect and respond to such CBRN threats is key for modern militaries looking to protect their forces and citizens.
To become an expert in the field requires extensive training and rehearsals.
Enter JA25. The exercise, held annually, is U.S. Africa Command’s premier military exercise in East Africa. It focuses on a range of readiness and warfighting topics from night air-to-ground integration, medical and veterinary operations and training, as well as live-fire exercises. This year it took place in Kenya, Tanzania and Djibouti with approximately 1,300 personnel from over 15 countries.
Of that number, over 40 U.S., Kenyan, and Tanzanian CBRN professionals conducted scenario-based training focused on identifying and countering CBRN threats.
“Events like these help us integrate together in a broader context. By being on site with other KDF members, we’re able to nest into the scenario and work closer with our counterparts,” said Geiger.
JA25 enhanced the capabilities of Kenya’s DRB, a primary partner of the DTRA, both of whom are focused on building and expanding multinational CBRN warfighting capacity.
“DRB is looking forward to growing its capability and footprint in different regions across the country so as to leverage response time to emerging threats,” said KDF Maj. Jackson Mwangi, officer in charge of the DRB’s search and rescue section.
This is the second year of CBRN-focused events at Justified Accord. Whereas JA24 focused primarily on classroom academics, this year brought practical field work, leading to more comprehensive and robust scenarios forecasted for JA26.
“Kenya is a growing leader in CBRN and crisis response and well on its way to becoming a regional hub of expertise and exporter of this critical capability,” said Geiger. “This relationship has proven beneficial for both sides as we’ve grown together in our readiness and capability.
The goal is for U.S. and partner forces to rely on Kenyan forces to not only manage CBRN issues in Kenya, but potentially deploy to help others in the region, including further abroad for missions with the United Nations or other coalitions.
“Practicing and training in CBRN is a key part of readiness and warfighting,” said Mwangi. “This enables the KDF, U.S. and partner forces to protect our forces, citizens and civilians.”
This year, participants dove deeper than previous iterations.
Academic exchanges covered chemical and biological threats, decontamination and ways to refine sampling techniques. Radiological protection and detection courses included scenario-based collaboration, providing exercise participants with an understanding of each other’s capability, techniques and procedures.
The next phase featured several days of using tactics and training on equipment to find actual radiological sources, provided by the Kenyan Nuclear Regulatory Agency. This brought increased realism to the exercise, enabling all participants to enhance their own expertise.
The final phase of training focused on a simulated CBRN event resulting in mass casualties, the need to identify the substance and mitigate its effects.
“Having this training here during JA25 has been critical for the DRB,” said Mwangi, “Working with other experts, learning together and putting into practice tactics and procedures on the right equipment makes us a better force, ready and able to detect threats and if needed, resolve CBRN events if they occur.
While the scenarios presented in the beginning are possible, opportunities like JA25 offer help ensure CBRN attacks are prevented or can be addressed rapidly.
“It’s training and practice that furthers readiness in this field, making it more likely U.S., Kenyan and other partners will have the skills and capability required to deter and defeat the will of those who wish to bring such tragic harm,” said Geiger.
(Courtesy article by U.S. Africa Command's Pat Foughty)
| Date Taken: | 03.24.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 03.24.2025 07:07 |
| Story ID: | 493531 |
| Location: | NAIROBI, KE |
| Web Views: | 387 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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