TRAINING EXPECT THE WORST…
Col. Zyg Dembek examines the current focus of CBRN training in the United States
A
rapid and decisive response to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) incidents by government agencies is vital
to public health and national security. An attack with a CBRN agent could cause catastrophic numbers of acute casualties, long-term disease and disability, psycho- logical trauma, and mass panic. It would also disrupt critical economic sectors and the day-to-day lives of thousands of citizens, and create cascading interna- tional eff ects by disrupting and damaging international trade relationships. An integral part of response to CBRN events is the appropriate training. This training can be thought of in terms of the various levels of profi ciency: basic (awareness), advanced (operational), and full mastery (instructor/coordinator). With many diff erent CBRN training
providers and opportunities available, how does one decide which is the most appropriate? Important, in the days of shrinking budgets, which courses will provide the greatest knowledge for the best value? World-class CBRN education and
training is available from US military medical research institutes, including the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) at Fort Detrick, Maryland, the US Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense (USAMRICD) at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, and the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute (AFRRI), on the campus of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) in Bethesda, Maryland. Training courses for medical providers have been taught at Aberdeen Providing Ground (medical treatment of
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1 Col. Dembek instructing MCBC students.
2 Contaminated patient triage. 3 MCBC Students viewing a
Biosafety Level 4 (BSL-4) laboratory.
4 FIBWA course introduction. 5 Military classroom instruction.
chemical casualties) since the 1920s; at Fort Detrick (medical treatment of biological casualties) since the 1940s; and at AFRRI (medical eff ects of ionizing radiation) for more than 35 years.
MCBC for medical CBRN Military medical providers must be trained to the operational level using graduate medical standards. This includes training for medical response to biological, chemical, and radiological events. The Medical Management of Chemical and Biological Casualties course (MCBC) provides the highest standard of training available anywhere for the treatment of biological and chemical casualties, according to a US Government Accountability Offi ce (GAO) report.
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MCBC presents subject matter experts in a resident research setting, aff ording participants access to world-class research expertise, combined with realistic experiential case studies. The MCBC course is a fully accredited (CME and CNE credits available) six day course off ered four times annually (in March, May, September and October) at USAMRIID, and USAMRICD. Over 15,000 students have attended MCBC since its inception. Students enrolled in MCBC can expect
graduate-level academic expertise in the classroom, and the ability to interact with world-renowned guest speakers. They will observe a Biosafety Level 4 (BSL-4) laboratory, meet the USAMRIID Aeromedical Isolation Team, and visit a
Photos courtesy of the author
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