Kansas National Guard members demonstrate CBRN skills during Vibrant Response 13 training exercise

By Army Sgt. Terence Ewings, U.S. Army

MUSCATATUCK URBAN TRAINING CENTER, Ind. - Kansas Army and Air National Guard members assigned to the 73rd Civil Support Team - Weapons of Mass Destruction - conducted a decontamination training exercise as part of Vibrant Response 13 here, Monday.

As chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear response team specialists, the 73rd CST service members were responsible for identifying, assessing, assisting and providing CBRN information to their incident commander as part of Joint Task Force Civil Support.

“After almost two full-days of training, this has exceeded our expectations as an excellent training venue,” said Lt. Col. Dirk Christian, commander of the civil support team. “The unit completed a lot of collective training events preparing for the Vibrant Response exercise, and it’s all really starting to pay-off.”

During the exercise, Christian’s team was responsible for identifying possible hazardous contaminants in three separate facilities around the training center. Once contaminants were identified the chemical specialists were responsible for assessing the situation and evacuated civilians in the immediate area.

This is 73rd CST’s first rotation and is the second Kansas National Guard unit to participate in the Vibrant Response exercise.

In the event of a man-made or natural disaster in country, the 73rd CST stands ready to implement their CBRN skills to support civil authorities.

“While we’re downrange conducting operations, 40 minutes that we spend downrange could save 40 people or it could save 40,000 people,” said Christian, emphasizing the importance of his CBRN first responders and reporting the information up to the incident commander.

Army Sgt. Claude Williams, one of the first responders assigned to the 73rd CST, is responsible for entering the facilities with possible contaminants, identifying the contaminants and finding any injured personnel within the area who may need assistance.

“We have a lot of talent on our team, and just like any team you have star players that shine and bring their A-game; Williams is one of those people,” Christian said.

After assessing the overall situation during the training venue, Williams reported back the information that he collected, so other teams could go through the area to prevent the spread of the hazardous contaminants and evacuate the civilians.

Using the information received by Williams, the team was able to quickly and efficiently navigate through the buildings and rescue the role-players and mannequins, posing as injured civilians, during the exercise.

“I’m very proud to be a part of this team; it’s really an amazing feeling,” he said.

Williams, who comes from a long-line of family members who served in the Kansas National Guard, believes the 73rd CST is more than ready to support the American people in the event of an actual disaster in country.

“It’s really an amazing experience to see what would happen if something like this were to occur,” said Williams. “I know a lot of people are afraid of things like this, and it makes me really proud to say if something like this ever happened it would be partly my responsibility to help fix it.”

The 73rd CST will continue to support JTF-CS while conducting the Vibrant Response exercise, which is schedule to end later this month.

Ohio, Tennessee National Guard Civil Support Teams kick off Vibrant Response 13

By Army Staff Sgt. Keith Anderson, U.S. Army

MUSCATATUCK URBAN TRAINING CENTER, Ind. - After a simulated 10-kiloton nuclear detonation in a major Midwestern city, specialized teams of Guard members from Tennessee and Ohio began clearing routes and monitoring radiation, July 26, in advance of federal response forces.

The Weapons of Mass Destruction -- Civil Support Teams conducted assessments as part of Vibrant Response 13, a major incident exercise conducted by U.S. Northern Command and led by U.S. Army North.

More than 9,000 service members and civilians are taking part in the exercise from July 25-Aug. 13 at the unique disaster training area at Muscatatuck and 10 other training areas and airfields in southern Indiana and northern Kentucky.

“We are here in support of a simulated nuclear detonation incident,” said Army Lt. Col. Jeff Brown, commander, 45th WMD-CST. “We are assisting with clearing routes, containment and assisting victims.”

The teams were established in the wake of 9/11 to deploy rapidly, assist local first responders in determining the precise nature of an incident, provide expert medical and technical advice and help pave the way for the identification and arrival of follow-on military support. Civil Support Teams can assess chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear or CBRN threats

“Their mission today entails a reconnaissance survey to determine levels of contamination,” said Derrick Johnson, Civil Support Readiness Group -- East, Southeast Division, Civil Support Training Activity, Army North.

The 45th WMD-CST stood up in 2002.

“This unit is really adapted to survey and reconnaissance missions,” Johnson said. “And, they interact with civilian personnel very well.”

This is the first Vibrant Response exercise for the 22-man team from Tennessee but they have participated in several national-level exercises and have responded to real-world incidents.

“We had a Ricin incident, and we have responded to white powder incidents in addition to numerous stand-bys,” said Army Capt. Shawn Chance, survey team leader, 45th WMD-CST. Ricin is a highly toxic, naturally occurring protein - a dose as small as a few grains of salt can kill an adult human.

The job is dangerous, but the team members said they welcomed the challenge.

“I look at it as it's no different than a firefighter or any other first responder,” said Army Staff Sgt. Michael King, survey team chief, 45th WMD-CST. “Someone has to go in.”

When responding to possible radiation, there are safeguards in place to protect the Soldiers and Airmen on the team from radiation exposure and acute radiation sickness, said Army Maj. Donnie Allen, physician assistant, 45th WMD-CST.

“They have multiple monitoring devices, proper protective equipment and 'turn-back' criteria in place to protect them,” Allen said. “Low levels of radiation exposure are very survivable.”

After the specialized civil support teams cleared the routes and marked the “hot-zones,” the Ohio National Guard CBRN Enhanced Response Force Package, part of the Region V Homeland Response Force, was able to enter the area to evacuate civilians from a collapsed parking garage, decontaminate and triage the 'victims,' played by civilian role-players in moulage, and to evacuate them to safety as quickly as possible.

The Vibrant Response field training exercise is scripted to follow what would really happen in case of an unthinkable incident like a small, 'dirty' nuclear bomb detonation in a major city.

“Initially, after a catastrophic incident, local and state responders will be the first ones on the ground,” said Army Capt. Kenneth Murray, observer/controller/trainer, Joint Interagency Training and Education Center, West Virginia National Guard.

“Then, the civil support teams will assess the situation and the Homeland Response Force will be the first federalized unit that's going to be on the ground to provide decontamination for the sick and injured and relief for the first responders,” he said.

North Dakota National Guard's 81st Civil Support Team trains with Department of Energy, other agencies

MINOT, N.D. - Members of the North Dakota National Guard’s 81st Civil Support Team, based in Bismarck N.D., participated in a three-day Nuclear Weapons Accident/Incident Exercise at Minot Air Force Base.

The exercise involved nearly 400 people from agencies including the Department of Energy, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Air Force’s 5th Bomb Wing, as well as the North Dakota Guard. The exercise served as a way to hone the specialized skills of the CST.

“The Civil Support team is an important asset for responding to domestic emergencies and operations around the state,” said Army Maj. Gen. David Sprynczynatyk, adjutant general of the North Dakota Guard. “Practicing and training on response is the best way for the CST to remain a relevant and ready force for our community.”

The exercise scenario had the 81st CST responding to an aircraft with weapons aboard that sustained damaged from a tornado. The actual damage and event may have been simulated, but the actions of the CST members were as if it were a real event.

“We received the call and linked up with the Department of Energy,” said Lt. Col. Larry Shireley, commander of the 81st CST. “Members of our team are augmenting their team.”

Shireley said that the main role of the 81st CST during the exercise was to provide coordination and assistance to the other groups there. Their main task was to work with a team from Department of Energy’s Radiation Assistance Program to monitor the surrounding area and to take samples to determine whether there had been a radiation release.

In this situation, the 81st CST provided a valuable link between the North Dakota Guard, and the responding federal agencies.

“Our job is to assist them to determine whether radiation had been released and provide recommendations for the health and safety in the surrounding area,” said Capt. David Jablonsky, with the 81st CST. “We’ve also had the opportunity to train and work with the Department of Energy RAP team. This exercise provides us an additional opportunity to enhance those skills.”

Jablonsky said the 81st CST has responded to two actual missile recovery missions in rural areas of North Dakota. The CST provided on-site communications support for the Air Force during these recovery missions.

In the end, the major benefit of the exercise is simply building relationships.

“Good relations between state and federal agencies are being built here,” said Maj. Lila Teunissen, medical operations officer with the 81st CST.

Guam, New Mexico Guard CSTs perform disaster training

Members of the joint Civil Support Team collect, mark and bag unknown chemical samples on the suspected terrorist tugboat Pono during a simulated training event in Honolulu, April 24, 2012. (Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Matt Young)

By Army National Guard Matt Young, Hawaii National Guard

HONOLULU -- The New Mexico National Guard’s 64th Civil Support Team along with Guam’s 94th CST recently participated in the multi-agency exercise Kai Malu O Hawaii - Protected Waters of Hawaii - and responded to a call from the Coast Guard about a stolen tugboat.

The stolen tugboat named Pono was seized during the night of April 24 by the U.S. Coast Guard off the shore of Oahu. Eight Coast Guard members boarded ready for action and discovered four vials of an unknown substance, bomb-making materials and mortars. They brought the boat back to the docks and called upon a Civil Support Team to investigate the findings. Fortunately, this was only a training exercise.

The 14 members of the combined CST are specifically qualified to deal with hazardous materials, have more than 1,000 hours of training and are trying to teach area responders how to better handle potential disasters and terrorist attacks during this event.

“Even a small-scale attack directed at a maritime target in Hawaii could disrupt maritime operations and create an immediate need for increased security at all regional ports,” said Ray Toves, director, Civil Support Team Training and Readiness Division, 196th Infantry Brigade.

“An attack using a weapon of mass destruction would further complicate the emergency response efforts and would create a tremendous burden on a wide variety of local, state and federal recourses,” Toves said.

When the CST arrives on the scene, they work for the local incident commander and bring him a unique capability to analyze suspected hazardous agents on site. Their first step is to set up their operations area, ready their medical truck, check all equipment and set up a decontamination area.

“The first thing we try to do is have our teams set up the equipment and prep the [decontamination] area while the leaders collect the latest [intelligence] to brief the entry team,” said Army Maj. Xavier Miller, commander of the 64th CST, New Mexico.

During the KOH exercise, the three-person entry team, which consisted of team chief Army Staff Sgt. Anthony Cruz of the 94th CST, Army Spc. Patrick Gallegos of the 64th CST and Air Force Senior Airman Christine Eclavea of the 94th CST, got their mission brief, suited up and proceeded to board the tugboat.

Once on board, the entry CST began taking samples of the air and checking for abnormal readings on their machines that would detect anything out of the ordinary.

As the CST made their way into the kitchen of the tugboat they came upon the vials, bomb materials and mortars. The team continued to take readings, air samples and pictures of the suspect devices and carefully bagged the vials to bring them back for further testing.

While these procedures are standard for responding to a hazardous material threat, not everything about this training exercise was what the teams are used to.

“This mission was unique in that we were working on a tugboat,” Gallegos said. “When I saw what we were going into, I was like ‘whoa’, this will be interesting.”

One of the key factors I thought was performing missions that some of the participating CST members may not have been used to, Miller said.

Miller believes KOH was a great and unique opportunity to be able to come out and work with other CSTs from Guam and across the states.

Second WMD-CST Team Certified for New York

The Department of Defense (DoD) notified Congress today that the second Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team (WMD-CST) has been certified for the New York National Guard.

The 24th WMD-CST of Brooklyn, N.Y. is fully ready to assist civil authorities in responding to a domestic weapon of mass destruction incident, and possess the requisite skills, training, and equipment to be proficient in all mission requirements.

The team certified today brings the total number of teams certified by DoD to 56. Congress has authorized a total of 57 WMD-CSTs--enough to field at least one team in every state, territory and the District of Columbia.

Blog Ed Note: For my radio friends keep an eye out for NYC24NG on the NG ALE networks.

Weapons of Mass Destruction-Civil Support Team Certified For Guam and the United States Virgin Islands

The Department of Defense (DoD) notified Congress Monday that the Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Teams (WMD-CST) of the Guam and U.S. Virgin Islands National Guard are now certified.

The 94th WMD-CST of Barrigada, Guam, and the 23rd WMD-CST of Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, are fully ready to assist civil authorities in responding to a domestic weapon of mass destruction incident, and possesses the requisite skills, training, and equipment to be proficient in all mission requirements.

The teams certified today bring the total number of teams certified by DoD to 55, which completes the 55 authorized by Congress to ensures one team is fielded in every state, territory, and the District of Columbia.