The United States Army Soldier and Biological Chemical Command (SBCCOM) at the Edgewood Area of Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. is a new command established in 1998 to join two Army Materiel Commands: the U.S. Army Chemical and Biological Defense Command (CBDCOM) and the U.S. Army Soldier Systems Command (SSCOM) located in Natick, Mass.

     The U.S. Army Soldier and Biological Chemical Command provides support in three main areas of defense: research, development and acquisition; emergency preparedness and response; and safe, secure chemical weapons storage, remediation and demilitarization. From the blackboard to the battlefield, SBCCOM provides defense capabilities by fostering partnerships with communities, industry and other government agencies in developing and implementing soldier, chemical, and biological defense systems to ensure maximum protection for the United States.

     The Research, Development and Acquisition business area provides full life-cycle support from laboratories to chemical and biological protection, detection and monitoring capabilities for the battlefield. Recognized as the nation's center of chemical and biological expertise, the Edgewood Chemical Biological Center and Project Managers continue research, concept exploration, demonstration, validation and engineering manufacturing development for production of chemical defense systems, obscuring smoke, aerosol systems, and flame weapons.

     The Soldier Systems Center at Natick provides total life cycle management of soldier and related support systems through centralized development, procurement, integration, and management of equipment, clothing, food and protection for the individual soldier as well as shelters, airdrop, field service and organizational equipment.

     The operational capabilities of the command include the safe, secure, storage of chemical weapons at the eight United States stockpile sites at Anniston Ala., Blue Grass, Ky., Edgewood, Md., Newport, Ind., Pine Bluff, Ark., Pueblo, Colo., Tooele, Utah and Umatillla, Ore. These sites are also involved in Chemical Weapons Convention treaty compliance, remediation, emergency preparedness and direct support for the chemical weapons demilitarization.

     Capabilities for emergency preparedness and response are present in a variety of command elements. The Army Technical Escort Unit, a globally deployable, highly trained, explosive and chemical/biological response team, has been safely identifying, escorting, rendering-safe, disposing and mitigating explosive chemical and biological devices for more than 50 years.

     The command leads the federal Domestic Preparedness Program designed to enhance the capability of federal, state and local emergency response to incidents involving nuclear, biological and chemical terrorism. This new interagency effort provides train-the-trainer instructions and emergency response exercises for 120 cities across the United States, chemical and biological expert assistance and leadership for the Department of Defense Chemical and Biological Rapid Response Team.

     The comprehensive remediation of Rocky Mountain Arsenal, cleaning up decades of weapons and chemical production, and the management of a fast-paced DOD program for Assembled Chemical Weapons Assessment to find alternative solutions for destroying chemical weapons are additional missions under SBCCOM management.

     For more than 75 years, the command and its preceding organizations have led the military in chemical and biological defense and support to the military forces from daily peace activities to preparing and conducting military operations. Now, as the center of expertise for soldier, biological and chemical matters, the United States Army Soldier and Biological Chemical Command is committed to excellence in providing the best equipment and services in defense of our nation.