What is life like as a Army CBRN officer?

As a CBRN Officer/ any Officer in general you day to day really depends on whether you start out as a Staff Officer or you get a Platoon (as a 2LT). If you are on staff (most likely you will be the BN Chemical Officer) and it will be your job to advise the commander on all things CBRN. If you are in a maneuver unit (Infantry/Armor) try to learn their job as well as to be able to “speak their language” . This will be most beneficial when explaining how the CBRN threat effects their mission; how long it takes their guys/guns to get back in the fight after being slimed (contaminated with CBRN) and where they can’t go due to contaminated areas (without getting in MOPP4, which lowers combat power/their ability to fight effectively). Also don’t get too sciencey (unless your commander understands it) try to keep it simple and “don’t be weird”. The other option for staff is you would work in the BN S3 shop and would work on the operations. Taking orders from the S3 you would probably end up doing MDMP (military decision making process) and working the mission. Creating overlays, writing OPORDS, maps, updating slides, and whatever else the S3 asks you to do.

If you get lucky and get into a CBRN Company you will probably get a Platoon. You will be a platoon leader and your job will be pretty similar to all other platoon leaders across the Army. Mainly fascilitate and make sure that your guys have all the things they need to train and fight effectively. As a CBRN platoon leader you could end up with a couple types of platoons: Decon platoon , Recon Platoon, or if your lucky on a Tech Escort team (you usually have to go to Tech Escort school to get it though). These platoons are all centered on CBRN obviously. After platoon time,about 1- 1.5 yrs, you will most likely go to staff (if you started as staff, then got a platoon, you would probably be made an XO of a Company) After being on staff/XO (probably a year or so) for a bit you would go to Captains Carreer Course (CCC) as a 1LT/CPT and get ready to take command of a company (if you are squared away as a leader) when one opens up in your BN/BDE.

I personally started out on staff (in the UTARNG there aren’t any chem companies in my state). And it is a lot of MDMP and operations on the daily. A typical day to day office schedule is:
0600-0900: PT,breakfast, hygiene
0900-1200: Work (typically operations planning or planning CBRN training for the BN) when you plan training try to fit it into their operation and make it as realistic (real world) as you can if possible. Their are also briefs to sit in on, CBRN equipment maintenance (usually your BN CBRN NCO tracks it and maintains it, but you should also track it as well)
1200-1300: Lunch
1300-1700: More planning, prepping training, and briefs.
1700: Go home if you got your stuff done if not stay and keep working (I’ve had days where I didn’t go home til nearly 2300 working on MDMP and training plans)

If you are training in the field it’s usually to execute whatever you planned on the office days ( weeks-months prior). In my experience as a CBRN Officer it is what you make of it. CBRN gets a bad stigma cause we are the science nerds / can be weird and it’s not the sexiest job. You may not be hard charging all the time, you may not start with a platoon (you’ll most likely get one). But end of the day as an officer you are gonna be on staff at some point and it’s not bad to start there. I’ve had a lot of good learning experiences and opportunities as a CBRN Officer that I probably wouldn’t have had as a maneuver or other branch. It simply all comes down to you, how good you are at your job as well as any additional tastings they give you plus how well you can promote yourself and extend your area of influence (get people to like you for who you are, don’t try to pretend to be something your not). Overall I have really enjoyed my time as a CBRN Officer.

Hope this helps

Google CBRN SOP.

What is your current situation? Have You talked with a Recruiter from the Army, Marines, Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard, National Guard and the Reserves? That is always good research and if You have decided to join the Army, here are answers to your questions. From an Enlisted point -of-view, Army life is challenging and demanding, which makes it interesting, and rarely boring. I don't know what it is like to be an Officer, so I can't say much about that.

CBRN stands for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear, and is part of the Chemical MOS(Military Occupational Specialty. I hope this helps.