Civil Support Teams provide situational awareness for Defense Threat Reduction Agency

Photo By Staff Sgt. Sean McCollum | Army Col. Ernesto Audino, the director of nuclear support for the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, speaks to the audience at the National Guard Domestic Operations Conference, March 5.  

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, UNITED STATES

03.05.2009

Story by Staff Sgt. Sean McCollum 

National Guard Bureau

BALTIMORE, Md. - National Guard civil support teams have an ally in the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, a senior agency member told participants of the National Guard Domestic Operations conference today.

"The CSTs provide 75 percent of situational awareness for DTRA," said Army Col. Ernesto Audino, the agency's director of nuclear support. "That is a significant intersection for the Defense Threat Reduction Agency."

Among DTRA's goals are the elimination of weapons of mass destruction as a threat to the warfighter, to provide situational awareness to servicemembers and biological threat reduction.

Because of their military first responder role, Audino said the CSTs have daily contact with DTRA.

Civil support teams assess suspected WMD attacks, advise civilian responders on appropriate actions through on-site testing and expert consultation and facilitate the arrival of additional state and federal military forces.

DTRA's operations center fields calls from the CSTs on suspected WMDs, combining the knowledge of more than 700 active-duty service members and 1,000 civilian experts.

"When you reach out to that ops center, you're not just talking to an operator," Audino said. "You're talking to an operator, who talks with microbiologists, nuclear physicists and chemists around the clock."

• Date Taken: 03.05.2009
• Date Posted: 03.06.2009 08:25
• Story ID: 30801
• Location: BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, US