MANHATTAN, Kan. -- The first casualties came in several hours after the 172nd Chemical Company's trucks rolled into the parking lot.
A dirty bomb exploded Friday, March 30, in Kansas State University's Bramlage Coliseum during an event. Attendees were hit with fire, shrapnel and radioactive particles. Their faces, arms and legs were riddled with bloody blisters, burns, punctures and scrapes.
Soldiers of the 172nd crunched around the parking lot in decontamination suits that resembled MRE bags, pushing stretchers and directing the injured into domed tents. It was up to them to assess what levels of decontamination were needed to treat each person.
Friday's event was part of a yearly external exercise that evaluates the company's ability to aid a community after a chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear (CBRN) attack. The 1st Sustainment Brigade, 1st Infantry Division unit spent the week working with observer/controllers from U.S. Army North in preparation for Friday's big exercise. It is still in the process of being evaluated to ensure the company is ready for its yearlong Defense CBRN Response Force mission.
"Friday's exercise was a successful mission and we did very well," said Capt. Patrick J. O'Brien Jr., the company's commander.
The graded event is important because it assures the company's higher ups know it is ready to conduct mass casualty decontamination as part of a DCRF mission should it occur.
If a unit like the 172nd is called upon to help during a CBRN disaster, it is key the soldiers be trained and ready, said James Barkley, a division chief with U.S. Army North.
His unit is responsible for training and evaluating the Defense Department's homeland response forces, according to information from U.S. Army North. Military units provide CBRNE support to local authorities wherever in the homeland they deploy.
"It is one piece of a larger picture," according to information from U.S. Army North.
U.S. Army North representatives also evaluated the company's disaster reconnaissance platoon while at Fort Riley, ensuring the soldiers can properly conduct searches for chemicals.
Following the evaluations, the 172nd is preparing for a May training exercise at Yakima Training Center, Wash., O'Brien said. The Washington-based exercise will test the company's traditional CBRN mission and a battalion-level evaluation on DCRF efforts. A larger, nationwide exercise is scheduled for this summer.
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