In preparation for an upcoming mission, the CBARR team gathered in late 2015 at ECBC for a preoperational survey. "This is a rare opportunity for us to be able to do a run-through of operations here at ECBC before we get to an actual site," said Tom Rosso, chief of the program management office for CBARR.
Preoperational surveys usually take place at the project site one to three weeks before operations begin. Once equipment is in place and all personnel have arrived at the site, the team does a complete review of operations, reviewing safety measures that have been adopted for a particular project and ensuring that workflows are in place. Any corrections that need to be made to processes or procedures are made on the spot and worked into the overall project plans.
When CBARR embarks on a mission, it is often doing so at the request of another organization and may be there to assist with a portion of an overall project. That requires building relationships and working collaboratively with other teams. CBARR invited three of those partner agencies to attend the preoperational survey. The teams will apply the training they received at the preoperational survey to missions planned for this year.
One of CBARR's project managers, Rick Soto, was the overseer of the preoperational survey. "Don't hesitate to ask questions," he said to nearly 30 operators, technicians and medical personnel. "No question is a stupid question." Soto emphasized that as any concerns crop up, "We'll make the necessary corrections as we go along here."
The three days of the preoperational survey were broken down into stages that were described as "Crawl, Walk, Run," with the first day being primarily set up, equipment placement and familiarizing themselves with the site, the second day being a walk-through, and the third day being a full execution of two scenarios.
For this preoperational survey, the simulation was a chemical weapons assessment site where CBARR was providing personnel decontamination and air monitoring. Five tents were set up in a warehouse with all of the actual equipment they will be using on-site: a laboratory, a command center, an equipment repair shop and two triage tents.
One triage tent had a mini-room or "vestibule" as a first stop for treatment; it's also a cooling tent for workers who get overheated in their personal protective equipment. If a worker has a chemical exposure, rescue workers will have a decontamination line with a second tent where they can do low-level monitoring before transporting the patient to a hospital, either by land or helicopter.
The preoperational survey gave the team the chance to practice two scenarios: injury and exposure. The team did complete run-throughs in treating emergencies with CBARR workers in personal protective equipment. The emergencies ranged from possible heat exhaustion to possible chemical exposure.
One of the scenarios added a twist when a worker who was being "treated" and had been cognizant suddenly pretended to pass out, changing the team's treatment process into a possible heart attack response. Members of the 20th CBRNE Headquarters Division medical team, which may accompany the CBARR team on remote operations, jumped into action to attend to the mock patient. "The most important medical care they'll get is right here at the site," said Maj. Bryan Nowak, medical operations officer.
To ensure that all safety and operational procedures were being followed, CBARR brought in a neutral third-party representative on the final day of the survey. "Inviting external people to observe helps the team by bringing up questions they may not see," said Alan Cushen of the Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical and Biological Defense, who served as lead observer at the survey. Cushen took notes during each scenario and made a list. Afterward, he debriefed the group. Each team had to recount their actions and express their concerns, then resolve problems, right there on the spot.
The preoperational survey "prepares us for the terrain and climate we'll encounter," said Saul Martinez of the Chemical Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosives Analytical and Remediation Activity (CARA). Martinez, a rescue team leader for CARA, was one of the participants in the preoperational survey, which provided his team an opportunity to train for similar situations alongside CBARR. "Here, we can use it, drive it, try it -- straps, belts, tents, vehicles. It was absolutely best thing we can do in preparing for a mission."
Hosting a preoperational survey also provided an opportunity for CBARR to demonstrate its strengths and contribute in a positive way to the overall chemical biological demilitarization community.
CBARR technician Wyatt McNutt, who operates the detection equipment in the mobile monitoring platform, described the preoperational experience as "very valuable."
"This preoperational survey allows us to make sure we have the equipment we need," he said. "We found a couple of problems with equipment that would have been a big issue and now we'll have that taken care of, before we leave Edgewood."
Moreover, McNutt said, the preoperational exercise gave CBARR an opportunity to demonstrate the unit's strengths. "It lets other organizations know our capabilities, and helps us all start to come together and rely on each other as a team."
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