NBC Defense Training: Meeting the Challenge! - U.S. Army

CML Army Chemical Review, July, 2000 by Jeffrey W. Curry, Edward A Bradill

"Deadlier than a bullet: unclean, often unseen, sinister in its stealth. Goes for your head--the brain cells themselves, as well as a psychological number it lays on you--and your body. That's NBC warfare. Therefore, it's no fun to train for it. You have to face up to the realistic training soldiers need to survive on the battlefield. That means units, as well as personnel, must train under combat NBC conditions just as expected as rain or snow." [1]

LT COL Edward A Bradill

U.S. Army

"It didn't happen in the Gulf War, and Iraq had all types of chemical and biological (CB) weapons." This is the typical response I receive from Marine Corps commanders and leaders when attempting to coordinate nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) training. What if these weapons had been used against us? Would we have been prepared? Answer the questions yourself, but I think the answer is no!

We must recognize that NBC warfare is a battlefield condition. It is not a check in the block for an annual-inspection checklist! Let's face it: NBC-defense training is usually on the bottom of every commander's priority list. Why? With more and more countries procuring NBC capabilities, the proliferation of such weapons, and the escalating terrorist threat, the likelihood of encountering these weapons on the battlefield is at an all-time high. The NBC community, leaders, and commanders must band together and meet this daunting challenge head-on. If we remove the barriers that inhibit our ability to train our troops, institute innovative training techniques that spark interest in our personnel, and effectively solicit command support for NBC training, we better prepare our troops to win battles in the future. The first thing we can do is to rid ourselves of some old training practices that negate and undermine the benefits of NBC training.

BARRIERS

Old training practices impede our ability to train our personnel effectively. What I am specifically targeting are the CS chamber pain-threshold exercises and the mission-oriented protective posture (MOPP) 4 sweat exercises. Most service members' first experience with NBC-defense training begins with the M40 field protective-mask-confidence exercise. The perception our troops depart with, from this one experience alone, determines how they will respond to future training. When performed improperly, many such practices ingrain fear and resentment in our junior leaders, making it difficult for the NBC community to train its personnel once they become staff NCOs and commanders. These negative customs have a cumulative effect and significantly contribute to the fear that permeates all aspects of NBC training and readiness.

FEAR

NBC and fear are almost synonymous! Many leaders fear NBC because it provokes change, intrudes on the established methods of doing business, and interjects several complications into conventional training. Fear arises from the fact that we know our personnel are not proficient in performing their mission in a contaminated environment. Our troops feel it! In MOPP4, it is hard to see, hear, touch, smell, communicate, and perceive what is going on around them. This fear erodes their confidence and ability to function in MOPP4--fear of exposure to CB agents, fear of dying, and fear of the unknown. Regardless of its source, fear will create American casualties on a contaminated battlefield. Ignorance fuels this fear. Effective training is the only way to combat this fear. I have researched and tested several training methods as a Marine battalion and regimental NBC defense officer. Here are a few innovative techniques that worked for me:

Crawl

Establish a tiered training program that builds on previous successes. Use the crawl, walk, and run methodology when beginning an NBC regimen. Crawl--an example is to have the unit (one platoon at a time) observe a task being performed (such as a detailed troop decontamination [DTD]). Set it up so all the unit has to do is watch. Put on a show. The NBC instructor dresses an assistant in MOPP4, then processes him through the DTD from beginning to end. For optimal learning, set the DTD up like a classroom with the stations close together so the students can see the big picture. It limits confusion and aids in retention. This type of initial training reduces fear by teaching basic concepts and procedures. Personnel usually leave this class with confidence, feeling they could process through the DTD without any problems.

Walk

Continue with the above example. The next step is to have that squad or platoon process through the DTD with the rest of the company as an audience. You can even pick a squad from each platoon and have a competition with the staff NCOs and officers as judges. The winning squad could get the rest of the day off as an incentive. Combining training and competition boosts morale and unit cohesion. A softball tournament with the troops wearing field-protective masks [2] or M16A2 service rifle disassembly/assembly relay races while wearing protective gloves are other ways to incorporate competition into NBC training. This training builds confidence in their abilities to use the equipment by attaching it to tasks they readily perform.