"Step Out of the Ordinary" and join a branch dedicated to the defense for our country against the threat of Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) weapons and Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). CBRN Officers command or serve as a Platoon Leader of a Chemical unit while employing the state-of-the-art CBRN defense systems. In a command and staff role the CBRN Officer, plans, coordinates, and directs CBRN operations and training within a command or activity to include CBRN vulnerability assessment; multi-spectral obscuration; sensitive site exploitation and assessment; CBRN reconnaissance; CBRN decontamination; CBRN force protection; and combating WMD, which includes nonproliferation, counter proliferation, and consequence management.

The responsibilities of a CBRN Lieutenant may include:

• Commanding and controlling Chemical operations and combined armed forces during combat and peacetime
• Coordinate employment of CBRN Soldiers at all levels of command, from platoon to battalion and higher, in U.S. and multi-national operations
• Unique duty positions: Technical Escort Team; 75th Ranger Regiment; STRYKER NBC Reconnaissance Vehicle Platoon Leader; Battalion CBRN Officer in an Airborne, Air Assault, or Special Forces unit

CBRN Officer training includes completion of the CBRN Basic Officer Leaders Course Phase III (CBRN BOLC), where you will learn leadership skills, tactics and operational aspects of systems and practices used in a Chemical platoon. Your training will take place in the classroom and in the field. The CBRN BOLC course includes:

• Training in CBRN Defense Procedures
• Toxic agent training in the Chemical Defense Training Facility
• Preparing LTs to lead Chemical units
• Preparing LTs to serve as battalion CBRN officers
• Training on the latest equipment and technology
• HAZMAT Operations Certification (DoD Accredited)
• Demolition Exposure

Being a leader in the Army requires certain qualities. A leader exhibits self-discipline, initiative, confidence and intelligence. They are physically fit and can perform under physical and mental pressures. Leaders make decisions quickly, always focusing on completing the mission successfully, and show respect for their subordinates and other military officers. Leaders lead from the front and adjust to environments that are always changing. They are judged by their ability to make decisions on their own and bear ultimate moral responsibility for those decisions.

CBRN Officers may continue in the Maneuver, Fires and Effects career field, serving in the Chemical Corps at ever increasing levels of leadership and responsibility.

Responsibilities of a CBRN Captain may include:

• Commanding and controlling company-sized Chemical units (100-300 Soldiers)
• Coordinate employment of CBRN Soldiers at all levels of command, from company to division level and in joint, interagency, intergovernmental, and multi-national (JIIM) operations
• Develop doctrine, organizations and equipment for unique CBRN missions
• Instruct CBRN skills at service schools and combat training centers
• Serve as a CBRN advisor to other units, including Army National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve organizations
• Hazardous Material Certification (Technical Level)
• Incident Commander Certification
• Unique duty positions: Chemical Reconnaissance Detachment Cdr (SF Group); Instructor at the USMA Chemistry/Life Science Department; Technical Escort Bn; 20th Support Command (CBRNE)

The technical skills you acquire as a CBRN Officer will make you highly marketable in the civilian world. Personnel managers in Homeland Security, Consequence Management, Environmental Protection, and many other career fields are looking for employees with the skills and experience CBRN Officers receive.

• Civil Affairs Officer (38)