231st performs mass decontamination at North Locust Point Marine Terminal
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html][vc_column_text]By Airman 1st Class Sarah M. McClanahan, 175th Wing, Public Affairs[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Members of the Maryland National Guard’s 231st Chemical Company assisted with detecting potential chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and high-yield explosive hazards and tested their mass decontamination capabilities on Nov. 3, 2017, during their quarterly sustainment exercise at the North Locust Point Marine Terminal in Baltimore, Maryland.
The 231st Chem. Co., which is based out of Camp Fretterd Military Reservation, near Reisterstown, Maryland, participated in an exercise scenario where the 231st Chem. Co. provided mass decontamination support after the 32nd Civil Support Team initially responded to the CBRNE threat. The 32nd CST was then recalled to respond to a separate incident in the city, while the 231st Chem. Co. remained on location.
The threat was a simulated improvised nuclear explosive device aboard the S.S. Denebola. Various local, state and federal agencies worked together with the 32nd CST, the 231st Chem. Co., and the 251st Area Support Medical Company from the South Carolina National Guard.
The scenario involved a terrorist handling chemical and radiological materials aboard the S.S. Denebola, a cargo ship that served during the Persian Gulf War in 1990. In the process of dealing with the materials, the terrorist ignited an explosion affecting approximately 400 passengers, exposing them to radiological materials. Baltimore first responders initially arrived on the scene, followed by the U.S. Coast Guard before their capabilities were overwhelmed, and the 32nd CST was called to assess the threat. The 32nd CST made an unknown known by identifying the threats and mitigating the radiological concern.
“After receiving a warning order … the 231st was instructed to report by 8 a.m. and … set up a mass casualty decontamination lines,” said U.S. Army 1st Lt. Michael Fedner, the executive officer for the 231st Chem. Co. “The 231st was prepared to receive up to 400 casualties which may exhibit burns, blunt force trauma from the explosion, potential radiological contamination, and chemical contamination.”
With a start time of 5:45 a.m., the service members and participants of the exercise were in for a full day of training. The 231st Chem. Co. had two hour, from arriving on location, to establish the mass casualty decontamination line and begin decontaminating passengers.
“We missed the mark by about eight minutes … but I’m very confident in my soldiers,” said Fedner. “This is only our second exercise since annual training and we are still getting back into the groove of things. But, we got through it as a group.”
Once set up, the 231st Chem. Co. ushered passengers through the decontamination line, a series of stations to remove radiological and chemical hazards from a person’s body. This included an initial spraying with water, the discarding of contaminated clothing, and additional sprayings. After essentially washing away contaminants, the passengers are scanned to ensure they’re clear before proceeding to the medical station established by the 251st ASMC.
U.S. Army Spc. Latara Jordan, a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear specialist in the 231st Chem. Co., was assigned to the wash and rinse section of the decontamination line. Her job, rinsing role-playing casualties with soap and water, happened immediately after the discarding of contaminated clothing.
“It’s exciting at times. Other times it can be tiresome or exhausting to continue doing the job,” said Jordan. “Other than that, it’s exciting because we know what we are doing, We know what the whole purpose is [and] we can see the big picture. We are always willing to just go with it.”
Fedner added that the 231st Chem. Co. has come a long way since he initially entered the unit.
“I’ve been with this unit since I was a cadet in 2009 and commissioned in 2012,” said Fedner. “A long time ago, we were a chemical company without any chemical detection equipment at all. It was very difficult. I remember one annual training driving around once we got our first chemical detection equipment and putting our chemical agent detectors near red solo cups full of something that would set it off to simulate a contaminant. Now we have evolved to this.”
Fedner expressed how proud he is of his soldiers and acknowledged the challenges and difficulties they had to overcome to be able to fulfil the same requirements as a deploying unit.
This mission was not a test and there won’t be pass/fail on a regular training mission like this. The unit members received an extensive after action report at the close of the exercise to show where they performed well and what needs improvement.
In the spring of 2018, the 231st Chem. Co. will participate in an exercise, conducted in Indiana, involving about 8,000 service members ready to demonstrate their capabilities in a simulated deployed environment. The Indiana exercise is an extensive, annual evaluation with a 50-page checklist of tasks they have to perform correctly. Exercises, like the one held in Baltimore this past weekend, allow units to improve upon their skills and capabilities to better ensure readiness when the time comes to apply them when called upon in a real-life situation.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]