Table of Contents
Technical escorts refer to activities done by highly specialized units or individuals designated only to special duties. These operations are required in events such as the shipment of materials that need a high degree of security. The military and the industrial chemical plants are among the institutions that utilize the help of the technical escort. Since time in history, such institutions have used the effort from the technical escort to protect transportation of material of high risk from being hijacked by terrorists. Technical escort can be offered by an individual or by a technical escort unit. The units or the individuals must be highly trained, and they need to acquire professional qualification before being hired by respective bodies.
The special unit functions in special occasions. Its purpose is to investigate, to identify, and to control the use of hazardous materials. It is composed of experts in dismantling of explosives, neutralizing chemicals or curbing biological attacks. Lastly, they are held responsible for decontaminating and cleansing of properties or persons exposed to such materials (Burton, Burpo, & Garcia, 2016).
The Technical Escort unit trains various nations on chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear safety. It equips these nations with the skills to detect and respond to attacks. In 2014, it managed to train Philippines Military how to neutralize chemical attacks and defusing of bombs. In another scenario, they trained the Kenyan Rapid Deployment Squad in emergency chemical, biological and nuclear protective gears (Kaszeta, 2014).
Technical Escort in the Military History and Chemical Cooperation
The Technical Escort provides special support to the military operations. For instance, the USA military had its Technical Escort unit rebranded the CBRNE (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives) unit in 2004 (Burton et al., 2016). The unit is charged with the responsibility of providing extra specialized effort to the military in special operations dealing with biological, radiological, chemical, nuclear or explosive activities.
Industrialization posed a threat of civil wars. Nations increased their intelligence on security operations. The United States felt an existence of a security gap both domestically and internationally (Kaszeta, 2014). This created a need to expand its security measures. All the efforts to protect the nation from biological, chemical, explosive and nuclear criminal activities focused on the support from the Technical escort unit (Burton et al., 2016). The unit was expanded and reinforced to back up the military in such matters.
Technical escort has evolved, and it incorporates various crucial organizations. The 52d ordinance group, the CBRNE analytical and remediation activity (CARA), the 48th chemical bridge and the 71st ordinance group are among the units offering such support (Burton et al., 2016). These organizations provide the nation with safety measures. They are flexible, and they can perform operations in a variety of environments. These organizations support the commanding army throughout the world. For example, there are 20% of the command providing support for the fight for freedom in Afghanistan (Anbari, Yarmohammadian, Isfahani, & others, 2015).
In 2005, the Technical Escort (22d Chemical Battalion), the 52d Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) and the other five EOD battalions worked together. Later there was an incorporation of the 71st EOD group at Fort Carson. The group in which the Technical escort formed a strong pillar was expanded in 2006 and it then composed of other three EOD battalions and 110th Chemical battalion (Burton et al., 2016).
The CBRNE unit underwent structural development. It contained four remediation response teams, aviation sector, and mobile exploitation laboratories by May 2007 (Kaszeta, 2014). This characterized the Technical Escort with a powerful improvement with the capability to provide the armed forces with full spectrum specialized safety.
The greatest development shift in the Technical Escort was in September 2007 where by the formed 48th chemical Brigade took over from three of the two Chemical Escort Battalions and three Chemical Battalions (Kaszeta, 2014). Additionally, the new unit received training to equip them with readiness to operational control with specialized Laboratory management units (Anbari et al., 2015).
The technical Escort aids in international operations. For example, the units were involved in the fight for freedom in Iraq in 2008 (Kaszeta, 2014). It had unique commanding and execution capabilities. The 20 units that were deployed provided protection, identification, and elimination operations. It was successful in combating 20% of chemical, biological, and nuclear threats during the fight (Kaszeta, 2014).
Presently, the Technical Escort is in charge of five coordination units and four Nuclear Disablement Teams (Kaszeta, 2014). These units have all the required personnel and equipment to provide a full range of security to the military operations. The available resources enable the team to provide security domestically and internationally.
The units remain with the responsibility of providing home security. Sometimes it is called upon to support the president and other important persons. Also, it can be of help to provide security during special events.
Support from all the auxiliary units keeps the Technical Escort strong. The command works in collaboration with the chemical brigade, 65 other companies, the 12 Army battalions and a direct reporting unit (Burton et al., 2016). It is still evolving to meet both dynamic domestic and international security requirements.
In conclusion, the Technical escort is a specialized security unit. It is charged with the responsibility for providing highly specialized safety measure. It can be composed of a unit or individuals. Technical escort provides safety against biological, chemical, radiological and nuclear attacks or terrorism activities. Currently, the unit has special equipment like mobile laboratory services. The unit trains various military units to be able to detect and respond to chemical attacks. The escort is required during special occasions both domestically and internationally. Special events noted include shipment of high-risk materials and military operations. The sector has experienced milestones of development to the current status. There is room for development within the units to merge the dynamic industrial world.
- Anbari, E., Yarmohammadian, M. H., Isfahani, M. N., & others. (2015). From the investigation of hospital protocols and guidelines to designing a generic protocol for responding to chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear incidents. International Journal of Health System and Disaster Management, 3(4), 195.
- Burton, J. B., Burpo, J., & Garcia, K. (2016). 20th CBRNE Command: Organizing, Training, and Resourcing for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives Operations. Military Review, 96(4), 62.
- Kaszeta, D. (2014). CBRN and Hazmat Incidents at Major Public Events: Planning and Response. John Wiley & Sons.