U.S. Army's Nuclear Disablement Team trains with Special Forces

Black helicopters over America used to be fodder for conspiracy theorists, but today there really are U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopters flying special operators on training missions for a real-world "sum of all fears" event.

According to Maj. Cory Chatigny, Nuclear Disablement Team [NDT] "members trained to support night missions under simulated fire at a clandestine radiological dispersal device facility."

In other words, NDT trained to take an enemy weapons of mass destruction facility by force where simulated terrorists were building a "dirty" bomb that if detonated would spread radiological material within the blast area.

Mass.gov lays out the specifics stating that, "a "dirty bomb" is one type of a "radiological dispersal device" (RDD) that combines a conventional explosive, such as dynamite, with radioactive material...Most RDDs would not release enough radiation to kill people or cause severe illness - the conventional explosive itself would be more harmful to individuals than the radioactive material. However, depending on the scenario, an RDD explosion could create fear and panic, contaminate property, and require potentially costly cleanup."

“The mission was unique due to the facility and location of the objective,” Maj. Chatigny explained . “The facility was designed to look like a small warehouse that was turned into a makeshift weapons manufacturing site. It forced us to really take in the environment quickly – all the while at nighttime with night vision while ammunition blanks and simulators were going off around us – and to figure out what type of activities were being carried out in this facility.”

The Army release on the training event does not make it clear if 7th Special Forces Group members augmented NDT 1 for the assault, or if they played the role of the opposing force (OPFOR), meaning that they may have role-played the terrorists in the training scenario in order to challenge the NDT members.

The NDTs are a part of the 20th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives (CBRNE) Command which deploys from 16 military bases around the country.

"For me personally, this is one of the most realistic training events I have attended," Chatigny said. “We had the privilege of working with U.S. Army Special Operation Forces and Department of Energy subject matter experts instructing us on how we can improve. JRTC provided us with the opportunity to train outside of the box."