Chemical Response Experts Show Off in Eastern Europe

Some Illinois Army National Guard soldiers who are trained to respond to attacks on U.S. soil traveled to Poland in June to share their skills with their Polish and Slovakian counterparts.

Fifteen soldiers with the 444th Chemical Company based in Galesburg, Ill., and the 445th Chemical Company based in East St. Louis, 111., demonstrated mass casualty decontamination to Polish and Slovakian troops.

The Guardsmen, part of Illinois' Chemical, Biological, Radiological/Nuclear and High Yield Explosive Enhanced Response Force Package (CERFP), took their time with a process that was new to Eastern Europe.

"The training was in a crawl stage," said Col. Arthur Zdrojewski, commander of the Polish Epidemiological Response Center, "but that was necessary. We needed to see the proper procedures."

Maj. Thomas Molcanyi, commander of the Slovakian Preventive Medicine Rapid Déployable Outbreak Investigation Team, said, "We thought decontamination was just simple, but we've learned there are many more procedures than what we thought were involved in mass decontamination."

"I believe the cross-training was very helpful," said 1st Lt. Joe Bright of the Illinois team. "This cooperative training experience has solidified our international training relationship. We welcome our future training experiences and look forward to a full-scale exercise with the Polish armed forces."

Before leaving Poland, the Guardsmen toured the old town area of Warsaw and the Warsaw Uprising Museum, which is dedicated to the 1944 attempt by the Polish army to overthrow the Nazi occupiers.

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