COMET CBRN Advice

Dear Editor,

While helping CBRN units, we’ve come up with a few suggestions to make CBRN rooms run more efficiently:
 

• Make sure the CBRN specialist is actually trained to run a CBRN room. We’ve seen several instances of Soldiers assigned the job who have no idea what they’re supposed to do. Most posts have a two-week course that gives the basics of managing a CBRN room. Your local AMC SCB LAR or your training officer can point you in the right direction.

 

• Pay attention to calibration deadlines. All of the radiac equipment in the CBRN room requires calibration. But it’s the M41 Protection Assessment Test System (PATS) that’s most often overlooked.  It’s supposed to have a complete overhaul every 18 months.  When PATS goes for years with no calibration, it gives bad readings and flunks good masks while passing bad masks.

           calibration.

           Remember to notify TMDE when transferring equipment to another unit.  That lets them track the location of equipment needing calibration.
 

• When you transfer masks, change out the drink tube. That’s just basic hygiene.  You don’t want to be drinking through someone else’s drink tube.
   
• For goodness sake, don’t use drip pans for cleaning and sanitizing your masks.  Who knows what’s been in those pans?  NSN 7240-01-094-4305 gets the 5-gal bucket you’re supposed to use. 
   
• For the joint services general purpose mask (JSGPM), it’s a good idea to keep some basic items as benchstock.  Here are the items that often disappear or get damaged:

 

Item	NSN	Qty
Valve disk	4820-01-528-9292	10
Valve disk	4820-01-528-9291	10
Outlet valve cover	4240-01-529-1400	1
Quick coupling half	4224-01-539-5593	1
Air deflector	4240-01-540-2888	1
Internal drink tube	4224-01-529-1399	1
Water canteen cap	8465-01-529-9800	1
Operator cards	7690-01-529-1398	1

Terry Brown
Randy Pond
Terri Gill
Rony Reyes
Jeovanny Cordova
Ft Carson, CO

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Editor’s note: Great advice, again, from all of you. Thanks!