Between 19 and 23 October 2026, a European Union-funded CBRN research programme will hold its final full-scale field trial at the Hellenic Air Force Academy in Athens, hosted by the Greek Ministry of National Defence. The scenario is set in a public building where several people begin to show symptoms consistent with a chemical or biological release. Police officers, firefighters and ambulance crews reach the scene first; specialist CBRN units arrive later. The trial is built around the gap between those two moments.
The First Ten Minutes Belong to Generalists
Most equipment specifications are written as though the wearer handles contaminated kit every week. The Athens design removes that assumption. Participants without prior CBRN experience will first complete online modules covering terminology, how a release is recognised, exposure routes, safe approach and personal protection, then practical training before the operational phase begins.
That order is the message. A patrol officer who has never worn a chemical glove outside a training day still has to notice a wet patch, a drifting cloud or a cluster of symptoms, hold the public back, and get hand and foot protection on without contaminating himself in the process. Barrier performance matters, but tolerance for imperfect technique matters more. Gloves that resist a sweaty hand encourage shortcuts; gloves that go on easily get worn.
Mass Decon Begins With Other People's Shoes
The trial sequence runs through detection and identification, command and coordination, search and rescue, triage, health monitoring and decontamination, with a fast deployable mass decontamination system among the tools under assessment. Mass casualty decontamination is not a trained team walking a decon line. Civilians arrive in their own clothes and their own shoes, in mixed sizes, some walking, some carried.
Overboots therefore have to fit over footwear rather than over a bare foot, and a stock covering the adult range will not do it with three sizes. A moulded sole without straps or buckles survives repeated cycles better than hardware, and a boot that holds water inside becomes a reservoir holding the agent against the skin. Standing in detergent runoff for an extended period makes wet-surface grip and drainage a specification item, not a comfort note.
Cuffs, Sensors and the Cost of Dressing Wrong
The trial will also assess wearable devices, AR glasses and an AI-supported body pose tool that guides users through decontamination. Wrist-worn sensors and glove cuffs occupy the same few centimetres. If the cuff sits over a device the seal is compromised; if the device sits over the cuff, the device is contaminated and must be cleaned or discarded.
For non-specialists the practical answer is visual. Colour-coded sizing, a pictogram card showing the order of dressing and undressing, and a glove that comes off in one pull without the wearer touching its outer surface do more for safety than another half millimetre of material.
What to Put in the Specification
Three lines belong in any tender that may be answered by non-specialists. State who the wearer is, including how often they train. Require donning and doffing times demonstrated by untrained users rather than by the supplier's own staff. Ask for overboot fit data over shoes, performance after repeated wash cycles, and shelf life in a vehicle cache that sees summer heat and winter frost.
Field trials do not buy equipment. They change the wording that procurement teams use afterwards.