Soldiers from units under the 20th CBRNE Command are training for the Global Response Force mission this month at Fort Polk, Louisiana.
The 722nd Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Company is participating in the training rotation with the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Polk’s Joint Readiness Training Center.
The Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland-based 20th CBRNE Command began integrating into decisive action rotations in 2013 and 20th CBRNE units train with U.S. Army maneuver forces here on Fort Polk and at the National Training Center on Fort Irwin, California.
The Fort Bragg, North Carolina-based 722nd EOD Company is part of the 192nd EOD Battalion, 52nd EOD Group, 20th CBRNE Command.
With Soldiers and civilians on 19 posts in 16 states, 20th CBRNE is home to 85 percent of the U.S. Army’s CBRNE forces.
In support of the U.S. Army’s regional alignment efforts, 20th CBRNE is aligning its three brigade-sized elements to cover different geographic areas.
The Fort Carson, Colorado-based 71st EOD Group covers the Asia Pacific region; the Fort Hood, Texas-based 48th CBRN Brigade operates in Europe, Africa and the Middle East; and the Fort Campbell, Kentucky-based 52nd EOD Group deploys for Global Response Force missions.
Brig. Gen. JB Burton, the commanding general of 20th CBRNE Command, said decisive action training rotations have helped to instill an expeditionary mindset into his command.
“We never know where we might be called to serve so we have to be ready to go anywhere at any time,” said Burton, a native of Tullahoma, Tennessee. “These training rotations have proven that 20th CBRNE Soldiers and civilians are more than up to that challenge.”
Article courtesy of Walter Ham, 20th CBRNE Command, edited for context and format.