Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Britney Hiatt | Staff Sgt. Casey Carnahan, survey team chief with the 83rd Civil Support Team, tests...... read more read more
HELENA, Mont. - It all starts with a suspicious package at a government building in downtown Helena, Mont. As security officers examine it, a mysterious liquid sprays out, prompting the 9-1-1 call for possible chemical contamination that ultimately leads to the deployment of the Montana National Guard’s 83rd Civil Support Team.
The 83rd CST is used by incident commanders to identify chemical, biological, and radiological substances with their projected consequences, as well as offer advice on responding to these hazards.
All these skills and training were recently put to the test in downtown Helena, Mont., when the 83rd CST participated in an external evaluation put on by U.S. Army North from Fort Sam Houston, Texas.
According to 1st Sgt. Cary Monbarren, the non-commissioned officer in charge of the 83rd CST, civil support teams have to participate in an external evaluations exercise every 18 months for national certification. This allows the 83rd to support emergency responders in the event of a hazardous material situation that is beyond local capabilities.
Exercises like this give the CST feedback on their performance by somebody outside the team, said Joe Jakubowski from San Antonio, Texas, and evaluation analyst with U.S. Army North.
“We watch how they set up their trucks, put on their protective chemical suits, collect samples of a chemical agent, and the process they use to identify the substance,” Jakubowski explained.
“Anytime we can get an outside agency looking at our tactics, techniques, and procedures, its gives us a view that we don’t see,” said Sgt. 1st Class Jeff Whitney, the communications team chief for the 83rd. “They give us good feedback about what we can do better.”
This exercise gave the survey team the chance to investigate a dispersion device, which is something they don’t see very often, said Staff Sgt. Casey Carnahan, a survey team chief with the CST.
Completing the mission during the middle of the night and in freezing temperatures also presented challenges with visibility and the proper functioning of equipment.
“I think it goes to the Army’s training strategy that you have to be able to do your job at any time in any condition,” said Capt. Adam Karlin, a medical operations officer. “If we can complete the mission at night, in the cold, when you’re tired, you can do it anytime.”
The CST has to be prepared to respond to an incident whenever a call comes in, no matter the time or the weather, Monbarren said. External evaluations like this confirm what the team can do, and can also be helpful in identifying problems caused by cold weather and low light, as well as solutions to help the team work more effectively.
It takes a lot of discipline to be able to perform an evaluation in the harshest conditions, Monbarren said.
“This is a very confident team,” he said. “They’re seasoned and most of these guys have been on the team since the very beginning. There’s a lot of training and work put into this team and they are extremely proficient in the line of duty.”
United States Army North recognized this proficiency and the motivation the 83rd CST exhibited during the evaluation despite the cold, the fatigue, and the challenges they dealt with, Monbarren said.
“The big takeaway is that it’s a good validation of what we constantly strive for in all the schooling and all the training exercises we take part in,” Karlin said. “We’re one of the best teams in the country and it shows when you meet all the high standards placed before us.”
The 83rd CST is now certified for another 18 months to identify chemical, biological, and radiological contaminations for incident commanders of Montana.
| Date Taken: | 02.08.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 02.12.2011 01:44 |
| Story ID: | 65289 |
| Location: | HELENA, MT, US |
| Web Views: | 762 |
| Downloads: | 7 |
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