The 5th Workshop on Medical Management of CBRN Casualties for Medical Officer is being held under the aegis of HQ Integrated Defence Staff (Medical) from 25 Jul 2017 to 28 Jul 2017. Gen Bipin Rawat, Chief of the Army Staff, was the Chief Guest at the inaugural session. The Chief of Army Staff, highlighted the need to work towards equipping and training doctors and paramedical staff in the Armed Forces to deal with all types of CBRN emergencies. The Chief of the Army Staff congratulated the organizers and expressed confidence that the endeavor in conducting this workshop will greatly impact the medical preparedness in tackling CBRN emergencies in future.Lt Gen MK Unni, DGAFMS & Sr Col Comdt highlighted the heightened threat perception of CBRN weapons by rogue states and terrorist outfits in the currently prevailing international security environment. The use of such agents is likely to result in thousands of causalities, thereby overwhelming local health and medical resources and AFMS should be prepared to tackle this challenge.
Lt Gen Satish Dua, Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman COSC in his address emphasized that first response remains a national responsibility and it is of paramount importance that we build capacity to mitigate the consequence of CBRN emergencies affecting lives, property and the environment. This would also involve establishing procedural guidelines for strategic operational and tactical planners responsible for CBRN preparedness and response.Lt Gen CS Narayanan, DCIDS(Med) and Colonel Commandant of the Army Medical Corps, the course controller said that a total of 69 Medical Officers from Army, Navy, Air Force and other Paramilitary Forces are participating in the 4 days workshop. The workshop will train participants on the various aspects of decontamination, evacuation and management of mass casualties in a CBRN scenario. The intensive curriculum includes sensitization of the participants on the national and international perspectives of CBRN threat, practical training on decontamination protocols and the use of personal protective equipment. Experts from DRDE Gwalior, DEBEL Bangalore, and NDMA will be actively involved in conducting the workshop in various venues including the Air Force Institute of NBC protection.