ECBC's Detection Engineering Branch Supports JPM NBC CA Fieldings of M4/M4A1 Joint Chemical Agent Detector

A major aspect of ECBC’s Detection Engineering Branch (DEB) mission is sustainment support of the various chemical defense detection systems employed by the Joint Services, including the M22 Automatic Chemical Agent Detector Alarm (ACADA), Improved Chemical Agent Monitor (ICAM) and the M8A1 Automatic Chemical Agent Alarm.

In 2009, the Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy began updating their existing detection capabilities by replacing their fielded legacy detection systems with the M4 Joint Chemical Agent Detector (JCAD). The improved M4A1 JCAD is presently scheduled for fielding in FY12. At the request of the Joint Project Manager for Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Contamination Avoidance (JPM NBC CA), the DEB has been supporting the fielding of the new JCAD system to the Joint Services.


Since March of 2009, the NET and Fielding Team trained over 20,000 personnel on the M4 JCAD and have fielded more than 50,000 systems.

DEB has played an active role in assisting the NET and Fielding Team during 18 on-site fielding missions, assisting with the fielding of more than 21,000 JCAD systems since January 2010. The support DEB provides to the JPM NBC CA NET and Fielding Team has been important in order to meet an ongoing JCAD fielding schedule directed by Army G-8. Representatives from TACOM and the Joint community are also an integral part of the fielding team.

"Support to the JPM NBC CA NET and Fielding Team benefitted me by introducing me to the JCAD system and giving me hands-on experience with the system," DEB Team Member Spencer Phelps said. "Being on the sustainment side of the JCAD program, having hands-on experience with the equipment is invaluable for supporting this system and answering inquiries from the field."

This collaboration has promoted the exchange of information regarding the system and feedback from the users.

DEB has become more involved with the JCAD by supporting the JPM NBC CA New Equipment Training (NET) and Fielding Team with system de-processing and training of the Warfighter on the system. The JPM NBC CA NET and Fielding Team is responsible for on-site training of the Warfighters for newly fielded JPM NBC CA equipment as well as ensuring that the new equipment is complete and in proper condition when handed off to the users.
"Working closely with the JPM NBC CA strengthens the relationship between our two groups and fosters cooperation and better communication," DEB Team Member Nichole Au commented.

ECBC members that helped make these fielding events possible from the JPM NBC CA NET and Fielding Team include Team Leader Mike Benham, Angel Acevedo, Lester Ashley, Paul Brennan, Aurelio Burton, Ernest Dalle, James Johnson, James Landers, SFC Sharon Palmer-Melendez, George Roberts, Sam Sharps and Joseph Wesley. DEB members that provided supported include Jerry Dietz, Spencer Phelps, Mike Palko, Kyle Phillips, Khoa Nguyen, Minh Nguyen and Nichole Au. Robert McDonel supported from the ECBC Acquisition Logistics Division.

"I especially benefitted from the NET and Fielding Team’s direct feedback on the use of the JCAD. They also have a lot of prior military experience and bring a wealth of knowledge to the organization," Phillips stated.

DEB will continue to assist the NET and Fielding Team upon request with the fieldings of new chemical detection systems to the Warfighter in support of the JPM NBC CA’s mission to equip the Joint Services with world class chemical detection systems.