Premier US military CBRNE command improves interoperability at Yama Sakura


CAMP ASAKUSA, Japan – American Soldiers and Army civilians from the U.S. military’s premier Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives (CBRNE) Command participated in Exercise Yama Sakura from Japan and Joint Base Lewis McChord, Washington.

Highly specialized units from the 20th CBRNE Command took part in the 44th iteration of trilateral exercise that brought together forces from the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, the Australian Defence Force and the U.S. Army in Japan, Dec. 7 – 15. The 3rd Ordnance Battalion (Explosive Ordnance Disposal), 71st Ordnance Group (EOD) and 20th CBRNE Command supported Exercise Yama Sakura, which means “Mountain Cherry Blossoms” in Japanese.

Read more…
Source: U.S. Indo-Pacific Command


Sign up for Counter-IED Report Newsletter


Related:

  • Czech Republic: Toxic chemicals and radioactive thorium found in Prague 4 house

    April 25, 2026

    Firefighters intervened this afternoon after hazardous chemicals were discovered in a house on Nad Studánkou Street in Prague 4. Among the substances found were toxic arsenic, cyanide, mercury, radioactive thorium, and picric acid, which was historically used as an explosive. A specialized chemical unit removed the dangerous substances for disposal, while a bomb disposal expert handled ...

  • Exercise Semper Durus 2026 sharpens crisis response readiness

    April 22, 2026

    Exercise Semper Durus 2026 was conducted aboard Marine Corps Logistics Base (MCLB) – Barstow, California, April 20-24, marking a highly successful period of rigorous training and readiness validation for the installation. Throughout the exercise, marines and base personnel were tested on crisis response capabilities through complex scenarios, including suspicious activity observation, Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Device threat ...

  • Balikatan 2026: U.S., Philippine Army EOD and CBRN Training

    April 20, 2026

    U.S. Army Sgt. Daniel Harris, left, assigned to 74th Explosive Ordnance Disposal Company, 303rd EOD Battalion, 8th Military Police Brigade, 8th Theater Sustainment Command, talks to his Philippine Army counterparts before conducting bilateral EOD and Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear training as part of Exercise Balikatan 2026 at Camp Aquino, Philippines, April 20, 2026. Balikatan is ...

  • New York: Governor Hochul Announces $10.5 Million Awarded Through Federal Homeland Security Program

    April 1, 2026

    Governor Kathy Hochul today announced $10.5 million has been awarded through the federal FY 2023 and FY 2024 State Homeland Security Program to enhance the preparedness and response capabilities of 80 cities, towns, villages and counties statewide. Bomb squads, hazardous materials teams, explosive detection canine teams, tactical teams and technical rescue and urban search and rescue ...

  • Iowa: Cedar Rapids Metro bomb squad seeks federal funds to replace aging bomb gear

    March 27, 2026

    Cedar Rapids Metro bomb squad is one step closer to receiving federal funds to replace aging gear. The city of Cedar Rapids released a press release saying Congresswoman Ashley Hinson announced the funding request from the Cedar Rapids-Metro Hazardous Devices Unit (HDU) has been selected to move forward in the federal process. City officials say they ...

  • Belgium: Practical tests for new CBRN-E technologies in the EU project TeamUP

    March 23, 2026

    In the last week of February, the TeamUP consortium conducted usability tests and a small-scale trial at the “Campus VESTA” test site in Ranst, Belgium. Numerous new technologies have been developed as part of the project, including sensors for detecting hazardous substances, digital tools for coordinating operations, and solutions for triage, decontamination, and situational awa-reness. Following ...

  • North Carolina: Training for the unthinkable, Task Force 2 validates domestic response readiness

    February 17, 2026

    Soldiers from units across the force converged at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Feb. 10-12, to validate their readiness as part of Task Force 2 under the Defense Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosives Response Force. The training ensures the soldiers remain prepared to deploy on no-notice orders in response to a potential weapon of mass destruction ...

  • Northern Ireland: Man accused of storing explosives in Belfast home not ideologically driven or linked to terrorism

    February 12, 2026

    A man accused of storing explosives in his south Belfast home is not ideologically driven or linked to terrorism, the High Court heard today. Dangerous chemicals and an improvised grenade were discovered during a major security alert at Radoslaw Kuc’s terraced house on Empire Street last year, prosecutors said. But a judge was told psychiatric assessments ...

  • UK: ‘Suspicious powder’ removed from house in Anfield

    February 1, 2026

    Army bomb disposal removed “suspicious white powder” from a house linked to a probe into the discovery of human remains. Merseyside Police closed Douglas Road in Anfield at around 2.30pm today, Sunday, after officers carrying out a forensic search at a house found a quantity of white powder. Police forensic teams have remained at the house ...

  • UK: Two arrested after officers carry out warrant in Farnborough

    January 30, 2026

    Two people have been arrested after officers executed a warrant at an address in Robin Hood Close in Farnborough yesterday (Thursday 29 January). Following an initial search, an Explosive Ordnance Disposal team and specialist search teams from Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service were called to assess the scene. As a precaution, a small cordon was put ...

  • Ontario: Police remain at home near Western University after chemicals capable of making explosives discovered

    January 29, 2026

    Police continue to investigate a home near Western University after seizing and disposing of chemicals they say could be used to make explosive devices. London police say the investigation began early morning on Jan. 24 when a suspect was arrested on Western’s campus at approximately 2 a.m. Officers say the individual was armed with a loaded ...

  • UK: Bedfordshire man jailed for making explosive and poisonous substances

    January 28, 2026

    A man found with a large amount of dangerous chemicals in his garden shed has been jailed. Harry Whittaker, 31, was arrested on 6 May 2024 after officers searched his home address in Caddington. Whittaker came to police attention after he was seen by paramedics for injuries linked to exposure to various chemicals he had been ...

  • California: Explosive chemical found in Berkeley home forces evacuations

    January 26, 2026

    Hazardous materials discovered inside a Berkeley home forced the evacuation of residents and nearby homes, authorities said. Decades-old picric acid was found Friday in a old photography lab located in the basement of a home in the 800 block of Colusa Avenue, according to Berkeley police. Picric acid is highly volatile and is no longer commonly ...

  • Detection and imaging of chemicals and hidden explosives using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy and deep learning

    January 22, 2026

    Detecting concealed chemicals and explosives remains a critical challenge in global security. Terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) offers a promising non-invasive and stand-off detection technique owing to its ability to penetrate optically opaque materials without causing ionization damage. While many chemicals exhibit distinct spectral features in the terahertz range, conventional terahertz-based detection methods often struggle in real-world ...

  • From CBRN laboratory to battlefield: International field trials with gas masks

    December 8, 2025

    Worldwide, the demand for advanced equipment that provides protection against chemical and biological weapons is growing. Despite international treaties prohibiting the development, production and use of such weapons, incidents involving their deployment continue to occur. TNO’s Defence, Safety & Security (DSS) Unit supports the Netherlands Ministry of Defence with a broad technological foundation for protection against ...

  • Florida: Brevard County Sheriff, Palm Bay Police Announce Massive Seizure of Illegal Substances, Weapons, and Explosives

    December 4, 2025

    The Brevard County Sheriff’s Office, working with the Palm Bay Police Department, the DEA, ATF, and several federal task force partners, announced the arrest of 26-year-old Maxwell Horvath after a major operation uncovered an extensive cache of illegal weapons, explosive materials, and what federal authorities say is the largest seizure in the nation of a ...

  • Army explosive specialists prepare to keep Britain safe

    November 21, 2025

    Army explosive disposal experts have played a vital role on a major counter terrorism exercise.The Army’s specialist Technical Response Force (TRF), part of 29 Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Search (29 EOD&S) Group, joined emergency services and partner agencies to test how they would respond to a threat involving chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or explosive devices. Around ...

  • Nigeria: Police train officers to handle explosives, nuclear threats

    November 9, 2025

    The Nigeria Police Force has trained 325 personnel on the handling of Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear threats. The participants were drawn from police commands across the 36 states of the federation. The four-week intensive course took place at the Police Mobile Force Training College, Ende Hills, Nassarawa-Eggon Local Government Area of ...

  • Nigeria: Police train 318 operatives to tackle proliferation of IEDs, chemical, radiological materials

    October 16, 2025

    As part of efforts to combat the increasing use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and the proliferation of chemical and radiological materials, the Nigeria Police Force has commenced an intensive training for 318 operatives. The Commissioner of Police in charge of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal–Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (EOD-CBRN), CP Hauwa Ibrahim, stated this during ...

  • UK: ‘Nerdy’ man made explosive devices in shed

    October 14, 2025

    A “nerdy” autistic heroin user who liked “doing science” has gone on trial charged with making explosive substances in his garden shed. Harry Whittaker, 33, has denied two allegations of making explosive substances, and four of possessing explosive substances, at the Old Bailey in London. The court heard in April 2024 paramedics were called to his ...

  • Ireland: Letter containing ‘anthrax’ sent to Dublin offices of Iona Institute

    September 16, 2025

    The Defence Forces’ Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) unit are examining a suspicious package sent to the Dublin City office of the Iona Institute. The package, which was addressed to the Iona Institute, was opened by the organisation’s CEO, David Quinn on Tuesday afternoon. The package contained a handwritten letter with Mr Quinn’s name on it, along ...

  • India: Bathinda twin blasts, bomb disposal teams struggle with explosive residue cleanup

    September 15, 2025

    Two minor blasts take place during cleanup drive in Jeeda village; none hurt; a 19-year-old radicalised law student, Gurpreet Singh, was booked on Thursday for assembling high-intensity explosives. Four days after twin blasts rocked a house at Bathinda’s Jeeda village, leaving a father-son duo severely injured, the bomb disposal squad is facing an uphill task in ...