Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Leticia Samuels | A Soldier assigned to the 42nd Civil Support Team, explains the capabilities of their...... read more read more
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ALBEMARLE, N.C. – Erik Hooks, Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, Brig. Gen. Todd Hunt, the North Carolina Army National Guard Assistant Adjutant General of Maneuver, and other DPS staff visited Soldiers with the 42nd Civil Support Team during their Combat Support Training Exercise (CSTX) Dec. 4, 2018.
The CSTX serves as an opportunity for CST Soldiers to engage in training scenarios simulating real-world missions. This exercise, validated by members of Army North (Fifth Army), gives vital feedback on the responsiveness, preparedness and the ability to respond to chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear events as well as an array of other incidents.
“The CST is an integral part of our domestic operations footprint in the state,” said Hunt. “We have used them as recently as Hurricane Florence.”
The CST’s primary mission is to respond to possible terrorist attacks and disasters while analyzing devices and materials that could be used as weapons-of-mass-destruction.
Hooks and the Deputy Commander of the North Carolina Highway Patrol Lt. Col. Charles Ward, observed the Soldiers and had the opportunity to ask questions about their capabilities.
“It's always good for me to have the opportunity to not only review the assets but talk to the individuals that are involved because the most significant things that I bring as the Secretary is bringing all those components together,” Hooks said. “I always want to be engaged with the people doing the work and also looking to see where we can have some interoperability across the different divisions and departments.”
Hooks went on to say that this is also a great way to look for opportunities to train together on preparedness before incidents occur.
“The dual nature of my role, also having to serve as the homeland security advisor, it is really important that we don’t just look at singular events in a vacuum,” Hooks said. “When there are opportunities for the divisions and the National Guard to work together; they are already familiar with each other, we know how to come together in case there is some larger scale event.”
The CST is a state asset under the operational control of the NC Guard and is designed to augment and support emergency first responder functions with their special equipment and expertise.
| Date Taken: | 12.04.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 12.14.2018 14:40 |
| Story ID: | 303627 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 61 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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