---
title: "CBRN during the Cambrian period"
description: "CBRNe World provides those tasked with defending against CBRN and IED threats with the essential practical, scientific and political information. Access the current and previous issues of the magazine by registering as a member."
url: "https://cbrneworld.com/news/subscribers/cbrn-during-the-cambrian-period"
date: "2026-07-30T21:08:56+00:00"
language: "en-GB"
---

#  CBRN during the Cambrian period

 Written by Gwyn Winfield on 07 October 2025.

This is an important caveat. Cambrian Patrol is not a CBRN exercise, it '...involves eight-person patrols advancing across challenging terrain, conducting numerous tactical actions which reflect the British Army’s training priorities.' The troops themselves are not CBRN specialists, there are 1,000 troops and 350 supporting staff (with 34 international teams) spread across eight phases over a 48 hour period in an area of Wales called Bannau Brycheiniog (or, in old money, the Brecon Beacons). Another important caveat, is that many nations are struggling to adapt to the changes of the strategic situation, from security assistance to all in warfighting, and the UK should not be seen as an exception.

That all said... *the MoD needs to prioritise CBRN training and awareness for their general troops far more than it has been*. The scenario which the squads were tested against was one that will be familiar to any watchers of the Ukrainian conflict, where a squad that was involved in route proving was targeted by a drone, which dropped chloropicrin. The squad needed to mask up, remove themselves to an upwind location, provide basic detection using detector paper, do immediate decon and safe undressing.

It's fair to say that the squads that I observed, and heard about, did not manage the CBRN element well. Masking time was horrible, personal decon was worse ("Why have you taken your mask off?!") and none of them had even seen the residual vapour detector before, or even carried detector paper. This was in an event which advertised itself as "medical and casualty evacuation scenarios... move through minefields; intelligence gathering; response to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats... conduct artillery fires and vehicle recognition... attack an enemy position and deal with prisoners of war." CBRN should not have been a surprise.

I understand that there is a lot to train young soldiers in, and I am very pleased that CBRN is part of the exercise... but the specialist CBRN soldiers are using casualty models that do not equate to the reality of these soldiers competence. The effectiveness of these troops, based on what I saw, after a release of an agent more toxic than chloropicrin, would be such that ground would have to be given up or any attack called off. Competence in specialist troops alone does not form the basis for deterrence.

The training is good, the equipment is good... but these soldiers need to be have more time to understand the challenges from CBW than they currently do. If they don't then not only will they be at risk from CBW, but they won't see CBRN as anything other than more trouble than it is worth, and it won't engage the next generation of soldiers to become specialists. It'll just seem like impenetrable faff, and competence will drop further.

Thanks to the organisers, 160th (Welsh) Brigade, the British Army’s headquarters in Wales, for hosting me. I hope to be back in the future and see that more time has been dedicated in the training schedule to CBRN.

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