Guardlife -
Volume 31, No. 4
21st CST Go For Hot Zone
Photos by Tech. Sgt. Mark Olsen, NJDMAVA/PA
The 21st Civil Support Team (CST)
passed its final evaluation by the
First United States Army inspectors on June 30.
The evaluation came at the end of a
daylong exercise held at a Salem County
shipping company. The location was
suited for simulating a WMD event because
it's various commercial and industrial
sites, in addition to its proximity to the
ports of Wilmington and Philadelphia. The
site was also important in that it went
against commonly held perceptions that
a WMD event in New Jersey would likely
occur in a major city or port closer to New
York City.
The event was part of the validation
process for the 21st CST, which was called
out on 90 minutes notice in order to respond
to the simulated WMD incident.
The team, which consists of 22 fulltime
Army and Air National Guard members,
was being evaluated on its initial
response time to the incident, which could
have been staged anywhere in the state and also how it handled
the possible contamination
by the simulated WMD.
The Team supports civilian authorities
at a chemical, biological, radiological,
nuclear and explosives incident site by
identifying agents/substances, assessing
current and projected consequences, advising
on response measures, and assisting
with appropriate requests for additional
state support.
The CST, who, while directly under the
command and control of the Governor, is
fully resourced, trained and evaluated by
the federal government. The CST participates
in both military and civilian emergency
responder specialized technical
training. Team members require approximately
600-800 hours of initial training
above and beyond their primary military
skill requirement.
Once the unit receives its final certification,
the 21st CST will be on call to respond
to nuclear, biological or chemical incidents
anywhere in the United States.
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