FORT KNOX, Ky. — The sounds of coughs and cries filled the Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) range while Second Regiment, Basic Camp, Cadets completed CBRN training on July 10 at Fort Knox, Kentucky.
Cadets from 2nd Regiment, Basic Camp, flap their arms after completing Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) training July 10 at Fort Knox, Kentucky. CBRN includes Mission Oriented Protective Posture (MOPP) training and the confidence chamber, which helps the Cadets gain trust in their equipment and battle buddies. | Photos by Reagan Zimmerman, CST Public Affairs Office
CBRN included eight different trainings on Mission Oriented Protective Posture (MOPP) levels, the Chemical Corps and the confidence chamber, which were meant to instill trust in their equipment.
Cadets left with a new found confidence in not only their equipment, but their battle buddies as well.
“In the [confidence] chamber specifically, when you are about to be let out, usually you can’t see, you’re burning, coughing and some of us are throwing up. You’re leaning on your battle buddy and they are the ones that guide you out of the room,” University of Alabama at Birmingham Cadet Grayson Keever said.
A Cadet from 2nd Regiment, Basic Camp, sings after removing her protective mask inside the confidence chamber during Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) training July 10 at Fort Knox, Kentucky. CBRN includes Mission Oriented Protective Posture (MOPP) training and the confidence chamber, which helps the Cadets gain trust in their equipment and battle buddies. | Photos by Reagan Zimmerman, CST Public Affairs Office
They learned to trust their battle buddies to not let them down. In this case, the Cadets needed to sing loudly and be motivated inside of the confidence chamber in order to leave. If everyone isn’t singing, the Cadets must stay in the CS gas longer.
“If you’re not doing your part, you fail the whole team,” Sgt. 1st Class Royce Sneath, with the 110th Chem Battalion, said.
Participation was key and that made some Cadets nervous. For others who weren’t as nervous, they took this chance to rise as a leader.
“The thing that helped me the most, was looking upon my battle buddies and seeing them struggle. [I was] just trying to be that image [for them] of you can make it through, just calm down, keep on breathing and keep on fighting,” Cadet Taylor Sturgeon, from Daytona Beach, Florida, and attending the University of Florida, said.
Cadets from 2nd Regiment, Basic Camp, complete the confidence chamber during Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) training July 10 at Fort Knox, Kentucky. CBRN includes Mission Oriented Protective Posture (MOPP) training and the confidence chamber, which helps the Cadets gain trust in their equipment and battle buddies. | Photos by Reagan Zimmerman, CST Public Affairs Office
Cadet Corbin Jumper, from Trempealeau, Wisconsin, and attending Viterbo University, believes that leading a battle buddy is important for learning how to lead Soldiers as a future Army Officer.
“Instead of sympathy, you need to have empathy. You need to put yourself right in their shoes and know what they are going through,” Jumper said. “You have to instill that confidence and talk them through it, together.”
