Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD – A team of experts from the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Chemical Biological Center (DEVCOM CBC) are working to ensure that Soldiers are prepared to defend against chemical and biological threats. They are doing this by supporting the fielded equipment used for detection, protection, and decontamination in contested environments.
“We essentially assist Army units in improving overall readiness of Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) defense equipment,” said Kyle Phillips, team lead of the Equipment Assessment Unit. “Our main goal is to ensure serviceability and maintainability throughout long-term storage or field use.”
The services provided by the Equipment Assessment Unit include hands-on familiarization for preventive maintenance checks and services, as well as field-level maintenance. The team also conducts current condition analysis of on-hand equipment and provides units with updated contact information for equipment-related issues and recommendations.
“Our team of engineers and technicians at the Chemical Biological Center prioritize soldier touchpoints – every opportunity for interaction provides crucial insight,” said Director of Engineering Dr. James Watson. “The Equipment Assessment Unit team is dedicated to adapting its support to each unit’s specific requirements, ensuring Soldiers are proficient with CBRN equipment, and channeling valuable feedback directly to our developers for continuous improvement.”
Although encountering CBRN threats during a deployment isn’t common, Phillips noted that Soldiers prioritize their CBRN equipment readiness just as they do for their weapon systems and other vital equipment.
“The goal of our program is to enhance Soldiers’ knowledge of the specialized equipment they depend on to accomplish the mission,” Phillips said. “We add context and our experience to what’s in their manuals. We prioritize answering their questions and going through maintenance tasks with them.”
The long list of equipment the team’s experts can assist with ranges from the M26 Joint Service Transportable Decontamination System to the M20A1 Simplified Collection Protection Equipment and reaches all the way down to the individual Soldier’s Field Protective Masks.
“The best thing about this work is directly helping the units increase confidence in their equipment,” Phillips said. “We prioritize equipment readiness, and that gives us a strong sense of responsibility.”
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The U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, known as DEVCOM, is Army Futures Comm
and’s leader and integrator within a global ecosystem of scientific exploration and technological innovation. DEVCOM expertise spans eight major competency areas to provide integrated research, development, analysis and engineering support to the Army and DOD. From rockets to robots, drones to dozers, and aviation to artillery, DEVCOM innovation is at the core of the combat capabilities American Warfighters need to win on the battlefield of the future. For more information, visit devcom.army.mil.
The DEVCOM Chemical Biological Center is the primary DOD technical organization for non-medical chemical and biological defense. The DEVCOM Chemical Biological Center fosters research, development, testing and application of technologies for protecting our military from chemical and biological warfare agents. The Center possesses an unrivaled chemical biological defense research and development infrastructure staffed by a highly-trained, multidisciplinary team of scientists, engineers, technicians and specialists located at four different sites in the United States: Edgewood Area of Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland; Pine Bluff Arsenal, Arkansas; Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois; and Dugway Proving Ground, Utah.
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