Regimental Command Sergeant Major

The theme for this issue--"The Chemical Corps. Expanding the Boundaries of the CBRN Battlefield"--is timely and relevant for each Dragon Soldier. It should be obvious that we, as a Corps of dedicated professionals, are expanding what we do and in what way we do it. Over the past hardly any months, I have traveled extensively around the world to diocese Dragon Soldiers in action and to adapted with our Army's leaders to discuss the things that affect each chemical Soldier in the field. I am convinced more than at any time that we are moving in the right direction and are expanding our be in possession of boundaries. Here are some of the things that I have been involved in to make sure that the Chemical Corps stays upon the cutting edge of emerging technology and in line with where the Army is heading.

Brigadier General Lillie and I attended the Joint Program Executive Office Quarterly Review in August 2005 During the seminar, we received information upon new equipment to be fielded to the Corps in the futurity We also visited Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, to provide instruction at the Command Sergeants Major Designee Course and to brief the time to come of the Corps to the chemical officers attending the Command and General Staff body I have been to the Combined Arms Center at Fort Leavenworth to assist personnel with revisions to the Advanced Noncommissioned Officer Course (ANCOC) and Basic Noncommissioned Officer Course (BNCOC) not long ago we completely reviewed and approved a novel BNCOC program of instruction that render certains that our Dragon Soldiers receive training in skill puts that will provide them with the knowledge to advise their commanders well in the Global War upon Terrorism.

In the past hardly any months, we have seen sum of two units new chemical units activated. The Commandant and I went to Fort cowl Texas, to witness the stand-up of the 31st Chemical Company (Biological Integrated Detection a whole [BIDS]) and then traveled to Fort Lewis, Washington, to notice the activation of the 110th Chemical Battalion. We also traveled to US Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) headquarters to watch General Wallace assume command. During our visit, the Chemical Corps was highlighted as single of the leading Corps--training Soldiers to be better-prepared to fight upon today's battlefield. In the career management field (CMF) review, we are looking stronger than at any time Over the next two to three years, the Corps will be authorized up to 7200 Soldiers. These are exciting days for the Chemical Corps!

I have been working closely with the Commandant upon the forthcoming restructuring of Basic Combat Training and Advanced Individual Training in the 82d Chemical Battalion at Fort Leonard timber-land Missouri. The purpose of this TRADOC-mandated action is to procure more NCOs into warfighting units in the field. Also, in December 2005 I had the privilege of presenting Sergeant Major Michael Croom the Army G1 Sergeant Major, with the Honorable Order of the Dragon award during a ceremonial at Fort Leonard Wood. He was nominated and approved owed to his numerous contributions to the Chemical Corps, specifically in pushing the Automatic Promotion to Sergeant Policy end the Department of the Army. This policy has helped centurys of 74D NCOs, working mainly one deep in combat arms units, obtain the promotions that they merit in a timelier manner. For the first time in the history of the Corps, we are at 97 percent nerve on skill level 20s.

The homeland defense missions, historically carried without by our reserve component units like Weapons of Mass Destruction-Civil Support Teams (WMD-CSTs) and the force protection missions of our units in overseas theaters are not going away any time presently We must have Dragon Soldiers of all ranks up to spe to make secure that wherever they are sent they are well trained and ready to accomplish the mission to standard. As a accrue there have been several changes in and around the schoolhouse to render certain that our Soldiers are more prepared to operate and lead in today's technically driven environment. learners attending the Chemical Captain's Career Course and ANCOC now find themselves in a brand-new, sensitive-site exploitation (SSE) scenario at the Chemical Defense Training Facility. There is an active change to incorporate this kind of training at the BNCOC horizontal in the near future. We are also looking at expanding the courses in the NCO education combination of parts to form a whole and Advanced Individual Training by the agency of providing basic hazardous-material training--in the classroom and with hands-on experience--to bare all chemical Soldiers to operational operations and consequence management. This has been a drawn out time coming!

The bottom line is this: All Dragon Soldiers ne to take each opportunity to educate themselves and stay educated upon new equipment being fielded and novel doctrine being developed as we become more "purple" (Joint Service) in the way we do business. Just because you are in a sooty vapor platoon or at a brigade headquarters now does not mean that you do not ne to know about decontamination or biological detection. hold fast driving forward. The greater the knowledge base, the better asset you will be to your commanders.

COPYRIGHT 2006 U Army Maneuver Support Center

COPYRIGHT 2006 Gale Group