Photo By Ryan Campbell | Airmen and Soldiers of the 2nd Civil Support Team, New York National Guard based at...... read more read more
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AMSTERDAM, N.Y. -– Twenty-two Airmen and Soldiers of the New York National Guard’s 2nd Civil Support Team sharpened their skills in finding weapons of mass destruction inside a six-story warehouse in Amsterdam, N.Y., on Feb. 25, 2020.
The warehouse, formerly the Fownes glove making factory, was loaned to the unit by its current owner Stickermule, one of the largest manufacturers of stickers and based in Amsterdam. It set the scene for the training event, where teams of two used detection equipment to find and mitigate chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or explosive substances.
Finding new and unique training sites is critical to successful training, said Army 1st Sgt. Brendan Dunfee, the 2nd CSTs first sergeant.
“It’s very important,” Dunfee said. “That’s one of our biggest obstacles is finding venues to train so we can build those relationships with community members and welcome them into our footprint and invite them to check out what we’re doing.”
Made up of 22 full-time Airmen and Soldiers, a CST is available at any time to respond to weapons of mass destruction or hazardous material incidents. They provide specialized skillsets to first responders and local agencies that request them.
“We provide an asset to an incident commander and to support civil authorities,” Dunfee said. “We would basically show up on scene after being requested, come in, tell the incident commander what we have available whether it be our mobile lab or reconnaissance teams, operations, medical facilities, and be available to be used however the incident commander wants to inject us.”
Along with the 24th CST, the two units serve all of New York State. For the 2nd CST, their area of responsibility covers central, upstate and western New York, while the 24th handles downstate, including New York City.
Dunfee explain that there is a selection process in order to join the unit. Depending on what job is assigned to the Airmen or Soldier, there can be upwards of two years of training, he continued.
“Today we were called by local police for the City of Amsterdam and their fire department after they responded to an incident where there were some nefarious things reported by neighbors,” Dunfee said about the exercise scenario taking place in the warehouse.
“The law enforcement made entry and went upstairs, touched some things and smelled some things and got some signs and symptoms and they basically put themselves in the hospital,” Dunfee continued. “Based on those signs and symptoms the fire department determined what they were dealing with was beyond their capabilities.”
Members of the unit explained they base their training around scenarios such as this, as it dictates what personnel and equipment will be employed. This scenario is part of an overall training program that will prepare the 2nd CST for an evaluation they go through every 18 months.
“That basically certifies us as a response team and this is part of our cycle to get ready for that,” Dunfee said.
The team uses equipment that many local agencies do not have, Dunfee said, such as a mobile lab that allows them to analyze and identify chemicals and substances, as they are found, on location.
“All of the information we provide to the incident commander is basically a full package,” Dunfee said. “Everything from our pictures, our analytical instruments, our reports and everything we write up we give that back to the incident commander as part of what he needs to close out an incident.”
By the time the training event was over, the 2nd CST had discovered a simulated blister agent lab and a stash of radioactive material hidden in the warehouse. Along with training, getting out, interacting with community leaders and informing them that they are always available, was one of the big results.
“We are on the forefront of putting ourselves out there, to protect the citizens of New York and the country,” Dunfee said. “This is what we do.”
| Date Taken: | 03.17.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 03.17.2020 13:13 |
| Story ID: | 365379 |
| Location: | AMSTERDAM, NY, US |
| Web Views: | 68 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, 2nd CST Partners with Community Leaders for Vital Training, by Ryan Campbell, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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