Chemical Decontamination Area

Mythical creature used to justify deploying Army musicians in their wartime role as a decontamination team attached to The Army Medical Service.

This phrase is commonly used along with "You'll get it in theatre"

Allegedly a CDA is used to decontaminate patients in an NBC environment so that they can then enter a Field Hospital that has been set up within COLPRO. In reality, however, upon deployment absolutely none of the kit required to run a CDA will be available.

When this becomes clear, the bands will be used instead for general duties. This normally involves the day to day running of a hospital (guards, sandbag filling, pan bashing, clinical waste managment etc.) while the nurses sunbathe.