It’s a situation no soldier ever wants to find themselves in – having to deliver urgent, lifesaving care to seriously wounded colleagues in the immediate aftermath of a chemical weapon attack.

But that’s what the 2nd Health Battalion trained for on March 2, with personnel from the Joint Explosive Ordnance Support group.

2nd Health Battalion troops used a personnel decontamination station to remove contamination from exposed individuals as quickly and effectively as possible, and prevent any further spread of potentially lethal substances.

It’s a key part of the ADF’s chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defence (CBRND) capability – together with the individual protective ensemble (IPE) worn by the soldiers.

The activity, conducted at Gallipoli Barracks, Enoggera, simulated an enemy attack involving nerve agents, with a number of casualties exposed to the substance and, in some cases, also suffering from traumatic, penetrating wounds.

'It's about having the trust in your mates to be able to look after you if the worst should happen.'

Warrant Officer Class One (WO1) James Clench, the ADF’s lead training adviser for CBRND, said it was the kind of highly dangerous real-world scenario the Defence Force needed to prepare for.

“If we take what's happened in other conflicts, adversaries have used chemical warfare agents,” WO1 Clench said.

“Once you're contaminated, you have to have a process to be decontaminated to be able to get out of your IPE to then continue operations.

“It's important for the troops to continue this training to demonstrate the process – from taking the soldiers in a contaminated environment, going through the decon station, to come out the other end clean – so if they do go on operations, they will be able to survive surprise, and survive to operate and manoeuvre within a potentially contaminated environment.”

Captain Joshua Armstrong, a medical officer at 2nd Health Battalion, said these lessons could save Australian lives on future operations.

“This training would be extremely important if we were to conduct operations for real,” Captain Armstrong said.

“With the environments that we could be operating in, there are toxic industrial chemicals. It doesn’t have to be a deliberate CBRN release. It could be a hazchem [hazardous chemicals] environment where there might be a requirement to conduct light decon.” 

Troops also have to deal with working in hot, bulky protective kit for extended periods of time, something even the most seasoned operators find taxing.

“It’s very challenging,” WO1 Clench said. “The thermal load when you're wearing the IPE is intense. It’s like operating in the sauna. There's no way for your body to expel any of the heat. So it's retained within your suit. You're just sweating all the time.”

'Once you're contaminated, you have to have a process to be decontaminated to be able to get out of your IPE to then continue operations.'

Combat medic Corporal Jack Maxwell said performing pre-hospital health care in the protective equipment was taxing.

“With a respirator and all the equipment, you very quickly lose your ability to utilise your fine motor skills,” Corporal Maxwell said.

“Even something as simple as picking up a casualty from a stretcher and placing them on a conveyor belt is a task that needs to be done with extreme caution.”

WO1 Clench said good leadership helped personnel with the physical and mental demands required.

“Having the enthusiasm yourself in doing the task then instils the enthusiasm into the member, because you have the knowledge and the capability and you can pass on that knowledge to them, and then invest in their capability,” WO1 Clench said.

Captain Armstrong said some soldiers enjoyed the hardship.

“Some people enjoy the challenge. Some people enjoy the problem set and solving that problem set. It's not for everyone, but I guess everyone needs to know about it,” Captain Armstrong said.

Meanwhile, for Corporal Maxwell, it’s a simple case of making sure our troops can save the lives of those around them, if and when it comes to the crunch.

“At the end of the day, it's about having the trust in your mates to be able to look after you if the worst should happen,” he said.