Relationship matters

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1 Major General Les Smith, Commanding General of 20th Support Command, tells Gwyn Winfield about re-engaging with partners Relationship matters GW: Last year when we spoke [CBRNe World Summer, 2011] it was "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" and in twelve months it seems to have got worse! Is this the 'new normal, i.e., is the need to possess WMD a psychological requirement that is prevalent in failing/failed states and, as such, we should not be surprised when the states that want them are among the first to collapse? Should you expect the aim point to continually shift and how do you prepare military forces for constant evolution? LS: Every nation has the ability to do what is in its best interest and WMD is a cheaper way of getting capability rather than forces, equipment or masses of people. As we see different countries, nation states and organisations try and develop their interests, they look to WMD as a cheaper solution. That has validated the requirement for our command. It has also demonstrated the need to train for not only the overseas missions and operations, but also the homeland defence missions as well, along with the need to build partnership capacity and peacekeeping. As a command, we stand ready and trained and that s the most important thing we can do. Our strategic plan forward remains nested within our higher command, the US Army Forces Command, as well as the Army s future plans. Major General Les Smith (centre) has been helping build bridges internationally DoD 14 CBRNe WORLD October

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3 Relationship matters GW. Partnership capacity is one of the big recent changes. CBRN units used to be largely involved with their own training. 20th Support Command (20th Spt. Cmd.) is now far more involved in training partner forces that have neighbours, or people in the region, who might attack them, such as South Korea or UAE. LS: It is about building partnership capacity. We used to do it in the 1980s and early 90s, but ten to eleven years of war have forced us step away from that as we have been so busy. We need to take those partnerships back to where they used to be in the past as we need to have them to do what we need to do around the world. GW: You seem to have stepped up your training and exercising with UAE and Jordan - Eagle Resolve and Eager Lion for example. Has this been in response to events? LS: Our job is to help our counterparts as we did in the past, but it is a winwin. Just as you and I met, and we talked about these relationships last time, it is always best to have those relationships before you have to do any type of mission, even if that mission never happens. So Lt. Col. Smith, for example, meets his counterparts in UAE, Jordan, or any part of the world before something happens is always better than having to show up and do a mission without knowing each other. 20th Support Command (CBRNE) support to Eager Lion began in 2011 with a five-person EOD detachment that conducted training for Jordanian forces deploying to Afghanistan, as well as a four-person CBRNE response team detachment conducting a three-day capabilities exercise, and a three-person exercise co-ordination staff. In 2012, we continued support to Eager Lion and expanded it to include an EOD team that conducted training, a joint task force staff, a full CBRNE response team that carried out a capabilities exercise, and an exercise co-ordination cell. The EOD teams there conducted unexploded ordnance and post-blast workshops, as well as performed a clearance and IED training exercise. As for Eagle Resolve, our support in 2011 consisted of a three-person coordination cell that was integrated into the Gulf Co-operation Council military staff. Continued support to Eagle Resolve in April/May 2013 has yet to be determined. These are all incremental pieces of building the partnership capacity. It usually starts small, as we have with Jordan and UAE. We look at these exercises from two aspects: as an ability to build the capacity of the teams and show value added to the Army and the nation in the C-IED and CBRN mitigation piece. We know those are key requirements in those parts of the world. If you shift that to what we have done with the existing threats in North Korea, we have been involved with the Republic of Korea (ROK) since the Command started, with exercises Key Resolve and Foal Eagle. We will also be stationing some formations from my Command back in Korea that used to be there before. GW: Even though you have a long relationship with ROK, it seems like you have stepped up your relation with both USFK and ROK forces. What have been some of the outcomes of that, and what lessons learned can you identify? LS: Our partnership developed because of existing threats from North Korea. 20th Support Command has deployed personnel to South Korea to conduct operations during both Key Resolve and Foal Eagle. Additionally, the Command sent several personnel members in support of Ulchi Freedom Guardian. ROK forces have become an important partner with us and we ve been able to learn from them as well as share our knowledge and experiences with them. Partnerships with other countries are also important and we ve been working on that recently. In recent months, we ve hosted visitors from African nations, Tajikistan, Bosnia, Australia and Canada,as well as engaged with our counterparts in Europe and Israel. GW: How useful are operations like the historical mustard rounds that appeared in Delaware? Does it provide a useful reminder that agents, such as mustard, have to be treated with respect and cannot be disregarded, or is it such a low level test of ability that it is an inconvenience in terms of posture and preparation? LS: Part of the CARA labs mission is to do that mitigation in the US and around the world. The key thing is how we keep the linkage between the civilian specialists that have worked this mission for 20 years and how we get that information passed to the young troopers so that they understand what those tasks are. We know they will keep washing up because of where we buried them, the problem is going to be around a while, especially with regard to the buried chemical rounds, as they don t dissipate over time. It is also going to get uncovered with construction so we have to have the capability to deal with that. Every mission is serious and they focus on the operational piece, even if it turns out not to be a chemical fill it is a great training venue for tasks that they have to do around the world. An important part of our mission is to defend the homeland and take action to make it safer for Americans. With homeland defense as a priority, anytime that agents are found, like the scenario you mentioned in Delaware, we take it very seriously and it would be irresponsible of us to disregard it. Even if we re called out and live agents are not found, we look at it as a chance for our soldiers and civilians to enhance their readiness, and that s an excellent use of our time. GW: How has SJFHQ-E (Standing Joint Force Headquarters for Elimination) developed? What lessons does it take from some of the events in the Middle East? Has it helped you reach out to the COCOMS (Combatant Commands) and explain your capability? LS: Although we are co-located, SJFHQ- E is assigned to US Strategic Command, while we fall under US Army Forces Command. We have close connections with SJFHQ-E and often times work on exercises as well as validate elimination policies and processes together. We also 16 CBRNe WORLD October

4 co-ordinate with SJFHQ-E on our joint and combined exercises such as Key Resolve and Ulchi Freedom Guardian. Although we don t speak for them, we value any chance we have to train and work together because work with a joint staff offers valuable insight to other organisations and agencies. By engaging across the COCOMS with all the things that are happening, to give us these Fast Times at Ridgemont High, it validates our Command. We are engaging all the COCOMS, specifically the army components that do the ground ops for those Commands, and we are engaged in planning and ops efforts with them, as we have done in Korea and UAE and Jordan. GW: What impact has the recent decision on joint patrols had on 20th Spt. Cmd. missions in Afghanistan? Are local C-IED professionals above such blue-on-green tactics, and what will the shutting down of local intelligence (from joint ops) have on elements such as WTI (Weapons Technical Intelligence)? LS: That is outside of my lane, as the Ops Commander chooses the mission that they do. Our job is to make sure that we have our soldiers trained to do the full suite of C-IED, tech escort or CBRNE aspects that COCOM asks us to do. That being said, those forces are key enablers. They enable the Afghan police and Army to do the mission, and we train them so it allows us to not do the mission ourselves. Green on blue attacks are a serious concern for all of our soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines and civilians that are deployed in support of OEF (Operation Enduring Freedom). We have been pretty fortunate so far. As the Afghan Army and Police assume more and more responsibility, there will be a degradation in the amount of intelligence garnered through the Weapons Technical Intelligence process. Their IED and EOD training incorporates evidentiary processes, but like any newly acquired skill, it will take time to perfect. The Afghan forces selected for C-IED and EOD training are vetted more stringently than almost any other element in theater. Tools, tactics and techniques taught are similar to US TTP, but not identical. They are taught to Nato standards for EOD and C-IED tasks. We will continue our efforts to work with and train our Afghan partners. GW: How is the National Technical Nuclear Forensics (NTNF) capability developing? While CBRN forensics is of growing interest to Nato, much of the science remains rudimentary. Are you leading the development of protocols for the role or do you rely on other agencies, such as the FBI, to set

5 Relationship matters the pace and you adapt it to the military mission? LS: In 2010, we assumed the NTNF Ground Sampling Mission from DTRA and worked closely with other agencies, including the National Laboratories, to refine operations and procedures. The NTNF Task Force is an interagency organisation, led by the FBI and, in addition to us, includes the Department of Energy and the Air Force Technical Applications Center, among others. We are continually working with the Interagency Task Force to improve cooperation and bring our soldiers' strengths to bear where it is most appropriate. To improve our strengths, we are always working to keep our TTPs up to date and include more advanced technologies into NTNF which will increase the safety of our soldiers and interagency partners. It is a whole-ofgovernment approach, we know the things that we specialise in are the site exploitation and rudimentary evidence collection. What we do is work on each others strengths. If our strength is not the spectral analysis then we will not worry about that, we will get it to the folks that do. We will work with our Nato partners to enhance the skills so we can learn from each other. GW: Has the new Joint Publication 3-41 had an impact on what the Command sees as the Foreign Consequence Management (FCM) mission? Has the lack of FCM declaration for Operation Tomadachi, for example, been a signifier of what you might expect in the future? And what does this mean for future planning? LS: In order for us to execute the FCM mission we have to be requested by the nation and need their support. A lot of the same skills that we need our troops to work with are also part of FCM. We need to think about that on a larger scale and, similar to what we have done in building our partnership capacity with our counterparts in other nations, if you already have the linkages then the process is a little easier. Our challenge UGVs reducing the exposure of troops 20th Support Command 18 CBRNe WORLD October

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7 Relationship matters is to use the same forces to do the homeland mission as the FCM. We have to look and see if they have the capability to one versus the other. Time and distance is a big factor so a country has to ask for help with enough time for us to mobilise and ready our equipment. In spite of those challenges, we do see international assistance as an important role for our Command. GW: The Homeland Response Force has needed to go through certification (see CBRNe World June, 2012), has this been the same for the Defense CBRN Response Force (DCRF), and how is the homeland security role developing? LS: We have an expanded role in the new DCRF and this high-priority homeland defense mission is a major focus for the Command. Our 48th Chemical Brigade plays a significant role and has new capabilities with the fielding of mass-casualty decontamination and dismounted recon equipment to its forces. Recently, we Always time for a quick bit of vacuuming 20th Support Command took part in the large, multi-agency exercise, Vibrant Response, conducted by US Army North. These exercises are carried out annually to test and train the capability of the federal CBRN response forces to meet the expectations of our nation. This response enterprise provides life-saving and sustaining capabilities to support the local authorities should the need arise to respond to a catastrophic CBRN incident. US Army North ensures our plans are synchronised with those of the local, state and federal partners. We work to get the right capability to the right place as soon as possible without causing increased strain on local resources. GW: Having a Major General (MG) for 20th Spt. Cmd. is a big step, do you think it is a testament to the threat and a higher regard for the Command? LS: Every officer that has commanded the 20th has made Major General. I am just the guy that got picked and promoted in position as this is my second GO (General Officer) position, while usually they come here as a first GO position. It is a testament to all the soldiers, NCOs and families that have allowed us to get to this level. The growing threat of WMD is also increasing, not decreasing, because of the ease of use, and the requirement will continue to grow. As an MG I can facilitate access but also advocacy for what we do as a Command. Commanders at all levels to it but, as a lead facilitator, I set the tone and conditions for that. I have fun every day. If you don t set the conditions for having fun in what you do, why do it? It is a lot of work, the kids do a lot of great work and they want to see leaders that have the same passion and focus on their mission as they do. I am here just to be their representative and tell their story to as many people about the great things that they are doing. We set the conditions for our own success. Our bottom line theme is focussing on combating CBRN and explosive ordnance threats for our nation. 20 CBRNe WORLD October