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Backgrounder
Exercise PROTOTYPE RESPONSE
BG-03.018 - April 25, 2003
Canada will host a NATO training exercise at Defence R&D Canada Suffield (Alberta) between April 25 and May 11, 2003. This training, designated Exercise PROTOTYPE RESPONSE, is part of a year-long program of exercises and evaluation of nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) defence capabilities being conducted by the NATO Defence Group on Proliferation (DGP).
Specifically, Exercise PROTOTYPE RESPONSE is the first opportunity for NATO's Prototype NBC Event Response Team (PNBC-ERT) and Prototype Deployable NBC Analytical Laboratory (PDNBCA-Lab), to operate in a wide range of representative NBC agent scenarios.
The PNBC-ERT and PDNBCA-Lab are capabilities being developed by the NATO Defence Group on Proliferation under NATO's Prague Initiatives on NBC Defence.
The tasks of an NBC event response team are as follows:
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To assess the effects of an NBC event;
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To advise NATO commanders on ways and means to mitigate the effects of an NBC event; and
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To give NATO commanders access to technical advice from appropriate subject-matter experts.
The deployable NBC analytical laboratory is designed to:
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Be quickly and easily transportable to the site of an NBC event;
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Identify and collect samples of possible NBC contamination; and
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Perform highly reliable scientific analysis of such samples.
The exercise and evaluation program being conducted by the NATO DGP began with a workshop and exercise held in Liberec, Czech Republic, which was followed on November 19, 2002, by an exhibition on NATO's NBC initiatives at the NATO Summit in Prague, and in March 2003 by Exercise PRE-OPERATION RESPONSE, held at Geilenkirchen, Germany. Exercise PROTOTYPE RESPONSE at DRDC Suffield will be followed by exercises in Italy (June), the United States (August), Britain (September) and Turkey (November). In December 2003, the NATO Defence Ministers can expect to receive recommendations based on lessons learned from the exercises and evaluations, and an analysis of the year-long program.
Exercise PROTOTYPE RESPONSE involves about 70 participants from 13 NATO nations. The complete PNBC-ERT is deploying, as will all elements of the PDNBCA-Lab, including biological, chemical and radiological laboratories; biological, chemical and radiological sampling teams; and an explosives ordnance disposal team. Exercise participants are being supported and complemented by the NBC Core Planning Team from Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE); an Exercise Evaluation and Observation Team; the Canadian staff officers responsible for planning, directing and controlling the exercise; and Canadian administrative staff.
The training includes laboratory and sampling exercises using live chemical agents and radiological sources (a variety of radioisotopes), and the biological simulant, Bacillus globigii (BG).
For over twenty years, DRDC Suffield has been conducting research into chemical and biological agents and providing chemical and biological training, including live-agent chemical training, to the Canadian Forces. DRDC Suffield has a proven track record for providing this training in a safe and environmentally friendly manner. Unique facilities, staff expertise and realistic scenarios make DRDC Suffield an ideal location for the training to occur.
DRDC is made up of six world-class research centres, and staff from DRDC Ottawa will also participate in the exercise, providing support to the radiological and nuclear component. The nuclear program at DRDC Ottawa dates back to the early 1950s with an important legacy in international collaboration throughout the Cold War.
The organization of this exercise is a collaborative effort involving the NATO SHAPE NBC Core Planning Team, the NDHQ Directorate of NBC Defence, DRDC and CFB Suffield.
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