FBI Trains Police, Fire, and Military at Bangor Event

Photo By Staff Sgt. Angela Parady | A representative from the FBI headquarters Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate Chemical Countermeasures unit talks with over two hundred emergency responders, including military, during a two-day collaborative training hosted by the Maine Army National Guard the Maine Emergency Management Agency. (Maine Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Angela Parady.)  

BANGOR, ME, UNITED STATES

01.25.2017

Story by Staff Sgt. Angela Parady 

121st Public Affairs Detachment

Over 200 first responders from New England met in Bangor for a two-day conference about weapons of mass destruction with experts from the Federal Bureau of Investigations.
Trained agents and bio-warfare scholars shared information and lessons learned from past events, including an in-depth look at the Boston Marathon Bombing in 2015. They talked about topics ranging from radiological awareness, agro-terrorism and biological threats and what to be aware of.
Technology has made it possible for individuals to look up information on any subject in the world, and have a wide range of information at their fingertips. Individuals who want to share their discoveries, can plug into a website, and their information is available to millions. Unfortunately, sometimes having readily available information means that information is able to be misused by individuals wishing to do harm to other good people around the state.
“You can now go online and look up how to make explosive devices,” said FBI Special Agent Glenn Barnes. “What’s more, is in many places, you can purchase the equipment online and have it delivered to your door, and oftentimes, no one even blinks an eye.”
The Maine National Guard and the Maine Emergency Management Agency co-hosted the event at Eastern Maine Community College. The FBI calls it a STALO training program, a program that brings together state and local agencies and works with them to identity hazards, and provide networking experience for future events
“We have experts here who are breaking down the different threats so people know what to lookout for,” said Capt. Alexander Wild, medical officer for the 11th Weapons of Mass Destruction- Civil Support Team. “They may come across different materials and they may not know exactly what they are, but if they can see other precursory items, then they will know that it is a clandestine lab, and they will know who to call.”
Clandestine laboratories are what they call the places where illegal substances are prepared. The so called labs are often used to manufacture drugs, explosives, or biological or chemical weapons.
“Simple ingredients, like the exploding targets you can buy online, when put together with other ingredients, or even just used in mass quantities, will produce a deadly weapon,” said Barnes. “This threat exists in Maine, and folks need to know how to recognize it, and who has jurisdiction over what.”
The training discussed precursor chemicals and, toxic industrial chemicals. They honed in on how to identify the labs using these chemicals to create radiological, biological and agro-terrorist threats. Using first-hand experience, instructors talked, and showed exhibits of labs that had been discovered. An in-depth dissection of the Boston Marathon Bombings brought additional information about lessons learned from a real-life mass casualty.
“There are so many chemicals that seem harmless, but can easily be turned into a weapon,” said Wild. “Our attendees include firefighters, police, emergency medical technicians, hospital staff and teachers, among others. There is something that everyone can learn from this training.”
Along with the lectures, examples of home-made labs were set-up around the back side of the gymnasium in Bangor, giving participants real examples of what to be on the lookout for. The CST was conducting their own training on the site, which helped the first responders see the many capabilities of the National Guard unit.
“We have our full contingency here, but we usually deploy for calls in teams,” said Wild. “That may be a small communications cell, or a hazmat team, or a decontamination team. This provides the attendees to see an example of that which we can provide.”
The FBI has a crime to solve, the CST, like the first responders, wants to restore public safety.
In a weapons of mass destruction threat, the FBI and local first responders work together throughout the investigation, addressing both of those needs. This training helped to bring people face to face with their counterparts and build connections for future partnerships.
“Especially in my area, we rely on state and local support,” said Barnes, who covers the area surrounding Bangor all the way to the Canadian border. “We have worked directly with the CST five or six times, we have also worked with security forces, assets from the 101st Air Refueling Wing as well as other agencies. It is important for us to keep our ties and connections, it makes it that much easier to work together.”

• Date Taken: 01.25.2017
• Date Posted: 02.17.2017 13:23
• Story ID: 223983
• Location: BANGOR, ME, US