Soldiers of 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, deployed to San Jose Island, Panama, to provide security for the destruction of chemical munitions Sep. 3, 2017.

The United States leased San Jose Island in the 1940’s to conduct chemical munitions testing. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) inspected the island in 2002 and found 8 chemical munitions needing to be destroyed and packaged.

1st Lt. Patrick Ellison, scout platoon leader with 3-15 Inf., led Soldiers from the ‘Can Do’ Battalion on a 37-day mission in support of the U.S. Army’s 20th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosives (CBRNE) Command.

“We provided 24-hour security coverage on all equipment, storage areas, equipment staging areas, and aviation sites,” said Ellison. “We conducted both mounted and foot patrols to ensure site security.”

“The mission was a success, and the Soldiers learned a lot,” he said. “I’m glad we were able to be a part of this real-world mission.”