FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. - For the first time, a group of Missouri Guard military police underwent specialized chemical defense training this week at the chemical defense training facility headquartered in Missouri at Fort Leonard Wood.
The pioneering effort is the brainchild of Staff Sgt. Amanda Barginear along with Capt. Scott Wolf and 1st Sgt. Gabe Medina - all members of the 1175th Military Police Company based out of St. Clair and St. Louis.
More than90 Soldiers from the unit's Homeland Response Force wereselected to attend. That wasa significant number, Medina says, and itcontributed to the bold military training exercise's high-stress, realistic training.
"Everyone walked through the training bays before engaging in a more realistic approach, then Soldiers were given medical exams and initially took part in basic safety instruction sessions," Medina said. "We were all fitted with protective equipment including a service light-weight integrated suit and a protective mask."
In each training scenario, the Soldiers were taught to detect and identify various chemical agents. Chemical alarms signaled the seriousness of the live agent training.
"Soldiers responded with the training techniques they received from the staff with confidence," Medina said. After the live-agent identification session ended, Soldiers followed that training by a hands-on approach to decontaminating themselves and their equipment.
The day ended with a medical screening and a review of the eventful day, as they shared stories about their own experiences.
Capt. Michael Tompkins and other trainers saidthe experiment gave the MP Soldiers a "dynamic training opportunity" to gain confidence in themselves and the equipment used in a live nerve agent and toxic chemical environment.
"I hope it is not the last and I look forward to any training opportunities that may take place in the future," said Tompkins, referring to his first time tutoring a Military Police HRF unit.