Chemical vials and explosive materials were strewn around the room as Marines in bulky suits and gas masks examined the simulated victim on the dirty cement floor. The Marines immidiatly began communicating via radio in an effort to mitigate the simulated chemical and explosive threats.
Marines with Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point Explosive Ordnance Disposal and 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense conducted a combined training exercise, here, July 12.
The exercise facilitated a relationship between CBRN and EOD Marines aboard MCAS Cherry Point, allowing the Marines to operate more efficiently together when neutralizing a hazardous area.
“There have been a lot of good learning points here training with CBRN,” said Staff Sgt. Austin Olsen, an EOD specialist with MCAS Cherry Point EOD. “Being able to see how [CBRN] uses their equipment alongside ours shows us what we need to do to neutralize the threats and let them do their job as well.”
The participating Marines started the day setting up their incident command post and gathering a plan for the mission. Next, a group consisting of two EOD Marines and two CBRN Marines suited up for the operation.
There were three groups in all assigned to different tasks, such as gathering reconnaissance, determining the severity of the situation and extinguishing the threat properly.
“The EOD Marines swept the site of the incident for undetonated ordnance and rendered the explosives safe,” said Staff Sgt. Jesse Bramer, the staff noncommissioned officer-in-charge of CBRN Assessment Consequence Management, Marine Wing Headquarters Squadron 2. “The CBRN Marines then assessed the site for further chemical threats.”
The training was based on real-life scenarios found in forward-deployed environments to ensure it was as realistic as possible without posing a threat to the air station.
“Typically, anytime we respond to a site, especially in a deployed environment, we’re going to have to worry about an explosive hazard being there,” said Bramer. “And the same goes for EOD with possible chemical threats.”
According to Lance Cpl. Ryan Shriver, a CBRN defense specialist with MWHS-2, after the training was over, the participants had a better understanding of how EOD and CBRN Marines work together to effectively complete the mission at hand.
“The training was very helpful,” said Shriver. “I have never worked with EOD before, but our missions are closely related, so it is interesting to see how we work together