The 10th Special Forces Group has been training up with the 82nd Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) company in order to prepare for a semi-annual certification process on operating environments that involve weapons of mass destruction.
Since the Commanders In-Extremis Force (CIF) was dissolved, those companies in Special Forces that focused on direct action missions were redubbed Hard Target Defeat Companies, and then Critical Threat Advisory Companies (CTAC), with the aim to focus on raiding underground facilities and weapons of mass destruction depots.
"We are seeing commanders across the Army shift towards understanding that CBRN is a real threat and that many of the units out there are not prepared for it," explained Cpt. Dylan Tossavainen, who commands the 82nd CBRN company within the 10th Special Forces Group.
During the recent exercise, Special Forces soldiers practiced decontamination procedures and treating casualties in a CBRN environment. Later in the year, they will be put through their paces when their capabilities are evaluated in order to validate the unit and its mission. The training will include detecting the presence of WMDs (such as with a handheld radiation monitor), and containing the threat.
"We specialize in supporting the teams and conducting special operations in sensitive site exploitations. Additionally, we have capabilities to confirm or deny the presence of chemical warfare agents, biological warfare agents, and identify radiological isotopes," said Staff Sgt. Gerardo Flores, who is the operations NCO for the CBRN company.
The 10th Special Forces Group is stationed at Fort Carson in Colorado with a battalion forward deployed to Germany.