Soldiers from the Czech Republic and Germany conduct a simulated cluster chemical,  biological,  radiological,  nuclear casualty and decontamination during Exercise CORONAT MASK 2018. - NATO photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Brett Dodge

BRUCHSAL, Germany – Exercise CORONAT MASK 18, a German-led Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) exercise concluded in Bruchsal, Germany on Thursday, Sept. 27, 2018.

The exercise, which included 14 Allied Nations and 1300 personnel, was composed of a series of exercises and drills based on scenarios demonstrating the identification, the reconnaissance, the analysis and decontamination of suspected chemical agents.

"There continues to be growing interest in CBRN Defence globally, and very much so in our Alliance and this has been reflected in the media attention given to Exercise CORONAT MASK 18,'' said Lieutenant General Martin Schelleis, Chief of the Bundeswehr Joint Support Service. "With Germany as the framework nation, NATO member contributions have been significant and I am delighted with the high degree of cooperation throughout, culminating in this excellent DV Day," Schelleis added.

NATO's transparency in all its activities was highly visible during the Distinguished Visitors Day, on Wednesday, Sept. 26 where international media witnessed equipment and personnel demonstrating the Cluster disciplines. In light of the recent attacks on Alliance territory, member nations have shown their commitment in reinforcing a strong defence and deterrence posture.

"Exercise CORONAT MASK 18 has allowed us to demonstrate a full spectrum of defensive CBRN capabilities across a variety of scenarios where this exercise has tested all participants in key CBRN disciplines and shown how capable our collective skills can be,'' said Colonel Henry Neumann, Commander of the Bundeswehr ABC Abwehrkommando. ''We have reinforced on Exercise CORONAT MASK 18 an already high degree of interoperability and continuously learned from each other through cross training. This exercise has been a huge success and we must build upon it."

Plans are already underway for the next exercise where the NATO CBRN Battalions will undergo further enhanced training for the next phase of defensive CBRN manoeuvres.