CBRN Challenge

Senior Airman Stephanie Lewis and Senior Airman Patrick Bellamy, Nellis AFB, Nev., members of the Air Combat Command Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Challenge team, check a simulated vehicle bomb for possible radiological and chemical contamination during the 2007 Air Force CBRN Challenge held at Brooks City-Base, TX. (U.S. Air Force photo/Steve Thurow)

CBRN Challenge

Captain Leilani Bush and Senior Airman Stephanie Lewis, Air Combat Command Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Challenge team from Nellis AFB, Nev., go over site locations for stationary sensor readings of possible radiological contamination caused by a simulated vehicle bomb during the 2007 Air Force CBRN Challenge held at Brooks City-Base, Texas (U.S. Air Force photo/Steve Thurow)

AFMC team wins 'hazardous' Air Force competition

Published Dec. 21, 2007
By Rudy Purificato
311th Human Systems Wing

BROOKS CITY-BASE, Texas -- Undaunted by six realistic scenarios that tested their capabilities to respond to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear warfare threats, the Air Force Material Command team of bioenvironmental engineering and emergency management professionals won the Air Force's 2nd annual Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear, or CBRN, challenge.

Considered to be the "Olympics" for the two career fields, AFMC was one of eight Air Force major commands to participate in the week-long event held here in mid-December. AFMC edged teams from Air Combat Command, Air Mobility Command, Air Education and Training Command, Air Force Special Operations Command, Air Force Space Command, Pacific Air Forces and U.S. Air Forces in Europe. An Air National Guard team also participated and captured the Team Spirit award.

The challenge mirrors potential homeland security and global war on terrorism threats. It was held at the U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine's Expeditionary Medical Support site here.

Tech. Sgt. Shawn Petro, a USAFSAM bioenvironmental engineering instructor, was in charge of logistics for the exercise. He said that each of the six scenarios lasted three hours. Sergeant Petro explained that all scenarios were different from those used last year. Among them was a chemical warfare incident designed to test participants' capabilities to assess the health risk to an installation victimized by an unleashed chemical weapon.

"The vehicle-born improvised explosive device scenario was actually a (so-called) 'dirty bomb' that had detonated and caused casualties," Sergeant Petro said.

"What was different this year is that we included civil engineer emergency management members," Sergeant Petro said. "We brought into the exercise the whole partnership with our emergency management responders. They help us identify hazards and are our base counterparts when responding to emergencies."

There were also two head-to-head competitions where teams had to identify a chemical and biological sample within time limits. Teams also participated in a TV Jeopardy show-style quiz that tested their CBRN knowledge.