48th Civil Support Team kicks off Operation Night Hammer

Photo By Staff Sgt. Leia Tascarini | Florida Army National Guard, Lt. Col. Mark Bianchi, 48th Civil Support Team (WMD-CST) commander, briefs local, state and federal authorities as well as other CST teams from N.Y., I.L., S.C., G.A., and N.C., at C.W. Bill Young Armed Forces Reserve Center during Operation Night Hammer, May 22, 2022. Operation Night Hammer is the first ever training operation of it’s kind to coordinate and cooperate with other states and entities to identify Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosive (CBRNE) agents. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Leia Tascarini)  

FL, UNITED STATES

05.21.2022

Story by Staff Sgt. Leia Tascarini 

107th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

PINELLAS PARK, Florida — The Florida National Guard’s 48th Weapons of Mass Destruction-Civil Support Team (WMD-CST), along with several local, state and federal agencies and WMD-CST’s from N.Y., Ill., S.C., Ga., and N.C., came together to for Operation Night Hammer, May 22-24, 2022. Operation Night Hammer is a three-day multi-agency training exercise that consists of sea, land and air exercises.

“We offer crisis management influence to emergency management professionals by assisting and advising in special security events. We also offer consequence management capabilities after a WMD incident by analyzing and identifying CBRNE (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and high-yield Explosive) materials and substances. An exercise of this nature gives an opportunity to train with our partners across federal, state and local law enforcement and as well as other CST and CERF-P units,” said Florida Army National Guard, Lt. Col. Mark Bianchi, 48th Weapons Mass Destruction-Civil Support Team commander. “It also gives my staff the opportunity to put something together and it’s an opportunity to train my guys to put on a major exercise which helps us meet requirements necessary to stay ready in the event we are needed to respond to a real-world incident.”

All of the WMD-CST teams will be using their medical, survey and decontamination sections, along with their analytical laboratories, to solve scenario-based evolutions specifically tailored to potential real-world situations.

“This is a massive exercise with multiple WMD-CST’s training with the capabilities that we have,” said South Carolina Air National Guard Tech. Sgt. DeVon McFarland, 43rd WMD-CST Emergency Manager. “I am truly humbled and honored to be here because this is actually history. The 48th CST set up this entire exercise and it's the first time an exercise of this magnitude has been coordinated by a CST. It has been wonderful working with the Florida National Guard.”

Civil Support Teams all over the country are used to support civil authorities at domestic CBRNE incident sites by identifying CBRNE agents/substances, assessing current and projected consequences, advising on response measures, and assisting with appropriate requests for additional support. This includes intentional or unintentional release of nuclear, biological, radiological, or toxic or poisonous chemical materials and natural or man-made disasters in the United States that results in, or could result in, catastrophic loss of life or property.

“We operate 24/7-365 days a year. Our guys have real-world missions where they’re providing crisis management capabilities by monitoring and detecting for CBRNE threats at special events like the Super Bowl and NASCAR events; we work regionally and nationwide,” said Bianchi. “The team came together really well to put together an exercise of such a large magnitude and I think that it will set the standard for years to come. We’ve got people coming from as far as New England to watch this exercise so they can put one on in the future. That’s a credit to the team that I have. The reason they’re so good is because they’re operational."

• Date Taken: 05.21.2022
• Date Posted: 05.22.2022 12:35
• Story ID: 421237
• Location: FL, US