U.S. troops, Kuwait Army increase readiness

Courtesy Photo | Spc. Edward Robitaille, a Chemical, Biological, Radiactive and Nuclear operations specialist with 44th Chemical Company, assists a Kuwaiti soldier with adjusting his mask during the joint training on decontamination operations and hazardous materials response.  

02.07.2007

Courtesy Story

40th Public Affairs Detachment

By Capt. Martin Cheman
ASG-Kuwait

KUWAIT — Outfitted with three layers of gloves, a self-contained breathing apparatus and a sealed full-body chemical suit, 26 Soldiers from the Kuwait Army Chemical Directorate got a taste of how difficult it can be to perform simple tasks in a chemical environment.

For two weeks in January, Soldiers from the 44th Chemical Company at Camp Patriot, Kuwait, joined their Kuwait army counterparts to conduct joint training on decontamination operations and hazardous materials response.

Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosive training is not easy, said Staff Sgt. Albert Ivey, recon platoon squad leader. It takes 10-15 minutes to put the chemical suit on correctly, he said.

"It raises your body temperature, limits mobility, throws off depth perception and with three layers of hand protection, you have practically no sense of touch," Ivey said. "In the summer, it's like being in an oven."

Even in the mild temperatures of the Kuwait winter, Soldiers were sweating in the suits.

The training event culminated in a two-day chemical/biological response Field Training Exercise, which 1st Lt. Amanda Penn, a platoon leader in the 44th, described as "tying the previous two weeks of training together in an exercise that is relevant to the potential threats that the Kuwait army may have to face."

The 44th, based out of Fort Hood, Texas, is stationed in Kuwait in support of Third Army/U.S. Army Central. The company commander, Capt. Tim Graber, said his unit expanded this year's training based on exercises a previous chemical company conducted with the Kuwaiti army.

"The idea came from the previous chemical company who conducted similar training in 2006," Graber said. "[We] wanted to continue the training that other units had done and add more to it. This year [we] added decontamination operations in addition to the hazardous material response operations... trained on last year."

In addition to strengthening the bond between the U.S. Army and Kuwaiti forces, Graber said the exchange demonstrated relevant CBRNE capabilities shared by coalition allies in the Global War on Terrorism.

• Date Taken: 02.07.2007
• Date Posted: 02.07.2007 10:33
• Story ID: 9077