KITZINGEN --  For a few hours on an overcast July morning it looked like a Hollywood movie was being filmed here.  Soldiers in bright blue and orange protective suits moved slowly through high grass, checking equipment and looking like men from another world.
    This wasn't a movie that was being staged though, it was soldiers from the 701st (Main) Support Battalion's 12th Chemical Company's Reconnaissance Platoon conducting "First Entry" training.
    First Entry is, according to Randall Bright, chief, Industrial Hazards Reconnaissance training, EAI Corporation, is "the use of mounted or dismounted soldiers to safely detect, sample, mark and report commercial industrial chemical, biological or radiological hazards and survey the extent of any hazards encountered."
    "It's another aspect of reconnaissance ... specifically for environmental and industrial chemicals like ammonia and chlorine," said recon Platoon Leader 1st Lt. Charles Lemons.
   Adding the new capabilities give the Army the flexibility to ensure the safety of soldiers from a variety of dangers according to Lemons.
    "If a unit is deploying, prior to their deployment we could go in and see if the area is clean.  So if they were going to set up their command post in a building, and it was suspected there were chemicals there, we could check it out," he said.
    To become qualified with the over 20 new pieces of equipment they received for the training, the recon soldiers had a week of classes, usually nine hours a day, then put it all together with tests in the field.
    "This was a very intense 40 hours of training, these soldiers received a lot of new ideas to work with," said Bright.  "The personal protective equipment is totally different than what they are used to, it's a lot more confining for one, and they had to adjust to that," he said.
    "To pick up the amount of information we have given them this week and put it to use shows how attentive and intense these soldiers are.  There were soldiers coming in on their own time to learn," he said.
    The difference from warfighting NBC tasks to detecting industrial contaminants is one that Spc. Chad Laswell, a member of recon platoon, said takes some mental adjustment.
    "The idea of being in this suit and walking around in a contaminated area is a new mindset for me," he said.  "In combat everyone tries to stay away from contamination, with this we are walking right up to an area ... it's scary when you don't know what's there," he said.
    Adding to the apprehension is the suit itself, which Laswell said is "hot, very, very hot."
    "I was sweating a lot in that thing," he said.  "And there was a lot to remember, like having to keep track of how much oxygen was used and to watch every move we made, 'cause if this suit tears that's it, if there's any contamination you're dead," he said.
    Walking in the humid morning air wearing the 30-pound oxygen tank and self-contained suit, Lemons said was a different experience.  "It's like you're totally isolated, you can hear yourself breathing ... it's like being in an astronaut suit in space," he said.
    Walking into a possibly contaminated area is a dangerous and frightening job, one the soldiers of the12th Chemical Company's recon soldiers are training for.
    While it calls for a shift in thinking from their everyday job, the soldiers are working hard to become proficient with the new equipment and thinking.  And while they practice with the new equipment, they continue looking to outsiders like a scene from a major motion picture.

    GERLACAUSEN SWIM SITE, Germany -- For the soldiers of the 12th Chemical Company's Reconnaissance Platoon, April 22nd was a great day for swimming in the Fahr River with a fox.
    Swimming during April in Germany?  With a fox?  Sound like something's not quite right here?  It makes sense when you know the soldiers didn't actually don their bathing suits and jump in the river, but were inside the M-93 (Fox) Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Reconnaissance Vehicle, practicing amphibious operations.
    "The soldiers have to be confident with this part of their job," said 1st Lt. Charles Lemons, recon platoon leader.  "What I want from this training is to make sure that when we are instructed to conduct a river crossing, that the soldiers can do it without any hesitation, and have total confidence in the vehicle," he said.
    The Fox is used to check for chemical agents on the battlefield.  This is accomplished by using probes on the back of the vehicle that can check the air, ground and water for contaminants.  The 12th Chemical Company, part of the 1st Infantry Division's 701st (Main) Support Battalion,  has six of the vehicles, all of which swam here. "As the division's [chemical] recon element, we are the forward eyes of the commander, and can confirm or deny if contamination exists, allowing him to make an informed decision about sending soldiers into areas "This vehicle can cruise up to 80 kilometers per hour and can go through rough terrain and perform amphibious operations, like fording a river," said Lemons, explaining the capabilities of the Fox.
    This is only the second time the Fox has taken to the water in Germany, and Lemons said the chance to train in the water is an important one.
    "If I never get to conduct river crossing operations, how can I give my commander a confident overview of all my platoon's capabilities," he said.
    Learning the capabilities of the Fox while in the water was something Spec. Steven Glover said he looked forward to.
    "At school they showed us the systems, but we never got to take the vehicle into the water," he said.  When it was time to actually take the Fox swimming, Glover said he was both nervous and excited.
    "I was nervous because it's something I've never done before, and I didn't want to mess up, but my platoon sergeant talked me through it," he said.
    After sliding the Fox into the river and relaxing, Glover said he took the vehicle up and down the river, performed figure-eights and did large and small turns to get comfortable with the controls.
    While the crew members rotated through the training, Staff Sgt. Steven Dean, a squad leader in recon platoon, said training like this was invaluable.
    "This is a good experience because we don't ever know when we'll have to put the vehicle in the water for a real mission," he said.  "If we ever have to do this for real the tempo will be much higher than this, but we can do
the mission knowing the vehicle will perform up to its capabilities ... this give the soldiers the confidence that the vehicle will swim," he added.
    As the hours passed, the 12th Chemical Company soldiers continued to take their vehicles in the Fahr River, enjoying the warm April day, swimming with a Fox.

    KITZINGEN — Detection of contamination on the battlefield is a hazardous and frightening duty the reconnaissance soldiers of the Army's Chemical Corps face.
    With the addition of the new M21 Remote Chemical Agent Alarm, currently being tested by the reconnaissance platoon of the 701st (Main) Support Battalion's 12th Chemical Company soldiers here, much of the danger may be
decreased.
    "The M21 is a passive, infrared spectrometer that absorbs infrared energy and detects contaminates up to five kilometers away," said Alonzo White, maintenance support manager for the Program Manager, NBC Defense Systems, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Edgewood Area, Md., who came to train soldiers here on the system in early June.
     Early detection of nuclear or biological contamination is the recon platoons mission, and the ability to do so from a distance eases some of the stress for his soldiers, according to 1st Lt. Charles Lemons, recon platoon leader.
    "This obviously cuts down on the danger to the individual soldier and is a great enhancement to the [M-93 (Fox) Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Reconnaissance Vehicle]," he said.
    Instead of having to drive the Fox through a potentially contaminated area, the M21 allows teams to work in the 'leapfrog' method, checking an area and then moving forward once it has been determined to be clear of any threat.
    The training in June gave the soldiers a chance to learn the system from the ground up, giving feedback on their first impressions.  "I gave them an initial training class, explaining what the system does and how it operates, then we came outside and had a practice session where they got hands-on experience with the equipment," White said.
    "When the soldiers look at the system, any problem areas they see or things they like, they tell me so I can tell the program manager and correct the problems if needed," he added.
    The M21 has been in development for the last 20 years, according to White, and is constantly evolving to better meet the needs of the Army.  Much of the evolution came from soldier's feedback.
    "Right now I just want the soldiers to understand the equipment, to feel comfortable with it, before we start putting them through some demanding field tests," Lemons said.
    Starting slow and getting familiar with the M21's manuals before the classes was something Sgt. 1st. Class Kevin Walker, recon platoon sergeant, said he considered vital.
    "A little prep time never hurts anyone.  It's like going to college and studying before a test, you want to be as thorough as possible.  We have the advantage of having White here, so the soldiers can formulate questions for the instructor and get a really good read on the system," he said.
    After testing the basics of how to assemble and disassemble the M21, the soldiers took it to the local training area where they put it through the paces
    The M21 will enhance the collection ability of the recon platoon, something Walker said will improve the company as a whole.  "For the way we fight, on the move, this is going to add more flexibility to the Fox system," he said.  "The equipment itself, from what I've seen, is going to be a big help," he said.