COCKEYSVILLE, Md. – The U.S. Department of Defense’s premier all hazards command hosted the inaugural Joint Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives (CBRNE) Forum to mark the contributions made by joint service CBRNE personnel around the world.
The 20th CBRNE Command held the event at the Martin’s Valley Mansion in Cockeysville, Maryland, July 28.
Hosted by U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Daryl O. Hood, the commanding general of the 20th CBRNE Command, the event welcomed joint service Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear (CBRN) and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) personnel.
Headquartered on Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, in Northeast Maryland’s science, technology and security corridor, the 20th CBRNE Command is home to 75 percent of the active-duty U.S. Army’s CBRN specialists and EOD technicians, as well as the 1st Area Medical Laboratory, CBRNE Analytical and Remediation Activity, five Weapons of Mass Destruction Coordination Teams and three Nuclear Disablement Teams.
This year’s forum highlighted the joint service personnel who confront and defeat CBRNE hazards in support of U.S. military operations around the world and civil authorities across the nation.
The U.S. Army Chemical Corps was established during World War I when chemical weapons were first used in Europe during trench warfare.
Since chemical weapons were banned by the international community, CBRN specialists, who are also called Dragon Soldiers, have focused on safeguarding and enabling maneuver forces to operate in a CBRN-contested environment.
U.S. Army EOD technicians marked their 80th anniversary last year. The U.S. Army begin training the first enlisted Bomb Disposal Soldiers, the predecessors to today’s EOD technicians, on Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, in April 1942 following the establishment of the British Bomb Squad, which was created to defeat time-delayed bombs during World War II.
After defeating hundreds of thousands of Improvised Explosive Devices in Iraq and Afghanistan, joint service CBRNE forces are shifting their focus to support large-scale combat operations against near-pear adversaries in support of the National Defense Strategy.
U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Erik C. Peterson, the deputy chief of staff for G-8 programs, was the guest speaker at the Joint CBRNE Forum.
Peterson said that having combat-credible forces that are trained, equipped and ready was the key to deterring and if necessary, defeating any adversary during multidomain operations.
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