US and Armenia Strengthen Conduct Field Training Exercise

The goals and objectives for the FTX were to identify gaps and train GoAM personnel so the United States Government can assess and assist other Armenian interagency partners with fulfilling those gaps outside of the exercise.

DTRA International Program Manager and member of the Cooperative Threat Reduction’s (CTR) Proliferation Prevention Program (PPP) Elizabeth DuFrane said the relationship with Armenia started around 2011 when there were known radiological items that were being smuggled across the border between Armenia to Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkey and all across the Black Sea. At that time, PPP was invited to Armenia to do an assessment with European Combatant Command G5 on border security and proliferation threats.

“That assessment evolved into a partnership with Armenian Border Guards in providing them surveillance and communications equipment along the northern border with Georgia, where we know that they had three incidents that had happened between 2008 and 2011,” DuFrane said. “That stemmed into a 10+year partnership and is now at a point where it’s advanced from what we call the ‘technical assistance’ into the ‘human capital assistance’,” she stated.

The week-long FTX consisted of multiple scenarios touching all aspects of WMD threats in the Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) space.

“Armenia is a geopolitical chessboard, in between the north and the countries to the south and then their neighbors east to west. It’s growing in popularity as we are starting to see a lot more exports of their goods, a lot more imports and a lot of trans-shipment,” said DuFrane. “With the way CBRN or WMD threats are evolving, it’s not so much the big weapons in the past days that threaten them, but a lot of smaller components, using illicit materials for smaller WMDs or delivery systems that pose the larger threat,” she said. “We wanted to test their knowledge of the bio or chemical regimes; dual-use item lists, and other international standards that we know Armenia should be training up on,” she said. “I always tell them [Armenians], this isn’t to trick you or make you look foolish. We want to find the gaps, and train them accordingly to be better prepared.”

Scenario one was a bioterrorist focus with two ‘scientists’ who wanted to smuggle a live agent out of the country with means of weaponizing it into a bio-WMD. The DTRA role players used international resources like a fake red-letter notice from INTERPOL that the ‘smugglers’ were approaching the Armenian border and are known to be carrying especially dangerous pathogens.

“That storyline was supposed to invoke a lot of the security apparatuses within the Armenian government as well as test customs and the border guards’ knowledge on receiving intel from outside of normal chain of commands,” said DuFrane.

Scenario two involved radiological or nuclear smuggling, with a driver carrying some materials that started to make him feel dizzy and sick. The security and border guards, along with customs, needed to perform the proper actions to safeguard the materials and detain the person appropriately.

Scenario three was a chemical incident with a driver headed to the border, carrying chemical items of concern into the country of Armenia.

“Again, we’re just trying to test the barrier on knowledge of fact finding and due diligence of research, document checks, and proper searching techniques,” said DuFrane. “This is their first time doing this type of exercise and overall was a good one for that brought a lot to light where there are some gaps, and definitely vulnerabilities in coordination that our team and Agency can step in and help them out,” she said.

Day two scenario was a follow-on from day-one exercise at the Point of Entry. It involved a vehicle that came through the point of entry the previous day but was not initially suspicious. However, after it came through the port, intelligence came down with information that the vehicle had hazardous chemicals on board and officials decided to stop it.

The scenario had the vehicle observed and then chased to a local area resulting in a car crash. The crash resulted in multiple agencies being called in to try and handle the scene. Chemicals spilled out of the back of the vehicle, personnel were injured, and a fire ignited, creating the need for a multi-agency emergency response.

On-site of the crash were Emergency Rescue Services, local ambulance team, fire department and Ministry of Defense CBRN Unit that all responded and all acted within the confines of their expertise.

DTRA Lead Evaluator Frank Muggeo said when an agency like DTRA comes into a foreign country, they understand that not every country has the amount of people they need, the amount of equipment they need or the training in areas to be able to be proficient all the time.

“Exercises like this allow not only the host nation, but also countries that are trying to help, like the United States, to evaluate their equipment and see what potential resources we can provide to help them be more efficient,” Muggeo said. “This scenario was a great thing to watch because the coordination between the responding agencies is a key element of what we were trying to do in the exercise which is interagency coordination,” he said. “And that was demonstrated quite well here today.”

Day three was a bio-related incident that took place at a local farm. In this scenario, a farmer discovered multiple cows had passed away from an unknown disease. They call the local veterinarian who comes in, assesses that it’s probably some type of illness, perhaps biological or chemical, and conducts tests to determine the best course of action.

Capt. Michael Bambarger, DTRA Country Manager for the Biological Threat Reduction Program (BTRP) for Armenia said the veterinarian team was energetic and open-minded during the scenario, putting safety and risk above all.

“They went out, they talked us through what they were thinking, the reason that they collected the sampling package, and what the process was from then on,” he said.

Bambarger stated it’s important for the DTRA teams to come out and evaluate exercises like this because they spend time and effort out here training for biological threats, because those threats don’t discriminate and don’t have borders.

“In regions like this, biological threats and illnesses can easily jump from one country to another,” Bambarger said. “The objective was to come out here and let them showcase their capability, see what they’ve learned, how they’ve learned it, and put that on display,” he said.

The final scenario focused on dual-use items of concern.

“We have brought some real life injects into this scenario,” DuFrane said. “Smuggling drones, chemical analyzers, and parts out of washing machines that are used to put together for delivery systems. Also, small bits and pieces of hazardous waste material that when you put it together with some of the other items of concern, you realize quickly, ‘those two shouldn’t go together’,” she said.

The FTX was a culminating event on the heels of an earlier Tabletop Exercise (TTX) and nearly 24 months of planning and collaboration. DuFrane said even though the partnership and relationship with their Armenian counterparts runs long and comes with challenges, it will only continue to grow as they work together.

“If you look at what’s happening globally, even regionally, around the world, I know it will continue to be a strong partnership,” she said. “We will only continue to build on what we’ve provided, really taking the time with the rest of the U.S. Interagency and international partners to ensure that we’re not giving more than what’s needed for the border guards to be able to do and perform their functions every day,” she concluded.