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addressing
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by Capt Paul Morrissey (Engr Pl Comd, 108 Inf Bn) Photos by Cpl Colum Lawlor
T
he 17th CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear) Defence Instructors course ran in
the School of Military Engineering (SME) from
January 28th to March 1st. The five-week, train-thetrainers course was attended by students from almost
all corps of the Defence Forces.
The objectives of this course are to give officers and NCOs
the level of knowledge required to: organise and run CBRN
training safely and efficiently within their brigades and
formations; operate the Respirator Training Facility (RTF) in
a safe manner; and competently and confidently instruct
on the skills outlined in 'Survive to Fight'.
The course developed the students' knowledge of
the CBRN 'Survive to Fight' drills before
moving onto CBRN detection,
An Cosantóir May 2013 www.dfmagazine.ie
recce and survey. The final phase of instruction focused on
the newly refurbished Karcher CDS 1000 decontamination
unit, which gives us the ability to use the newest, most efficient decontaminates available.
The students' introduction to the roles and capabilities of
other state agencies involved in CBRN was facilitated by visits to the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland and the
Office of Emergency Planning. The students also received
briefs in the SME from the Ordnance Corps, Civil Defence
and the Fire Service.
The course culminated in a final exercise that combined
CBRN survey skills and the setting up of a full CBRN decontamination line. In the first phase the students acted as a
CBRN platoon tasked with supplying a number of survey
teams to enter a suspected contaminated area to determine the type of agent released and the extent of
the contamination.
