Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Teams (WMD-CST)
U.S. National GuardBiography
The U.S. military domestic CBRN Response Enterprise includes National Guard units assigned to the National Guards Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Teams (WMD-CSTs), CBRN Enhanced Response Force Packages (CERFPs), and Homeland Response Forces (HRFs).
The mission of the WMD-CST is to support civil authorities at a domestic CBRNE (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and high-yield Explosives) incident site with identification and assessment of hazards, advice to civil authorities, and facilitating the arrival of follow-on military forces during emergencies and incidents.
Each team is composed of 22 highly trained, full-time members of the Army and Air National Guard. The teams are federally resourced, trained, and evaluated, but operates in Title 32 status under the command and control of the state governor.
The WMD-CST teams utilize an Analytical Laboratory Suite (ALS) which provides a science-based analysis capability for CBRNE samples to identify threats from a potentially contaminated environment. Within the compartments of the ALS, operators have the ability to prepare, extract, analyze and store environmental samples and to document environmental conditions.
Threat Agent characterization is conducted in the ALS through:
- Electrochemical Luminescence
- Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectroscopy
- Infrared Spectroscopy
- Polarized Light Microscopy
- Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)
- Immunoassay Lateral Flow Devices and Tickets
- High Purity Germanium Gamma Spectroscopy
- Fluorescence Microscopy
The WMD-CST teams employ a mobile Unified Command Suite (UCS) which has the ability to cross-band multiple radio systems to allow uniform communication across multiple agencies. The UCS can also establish and maintain communications within the entire CST footprint and with higher headquarters, other responding elements and reach back Subject Matter Experts. Often, the UCS augments incident command communications as available and within its capabilities.
Congress authorized 17 additional CSTs in 2000, five more in 2001, and 23 more in 2005 for a total of 55 CSTs.
Notes
Editor’s Picks: Articles on the WMD-CST Links may lead to external sites.
- CST Large Venue Protection Training (Feb 2016)
- Civil Support Team Keeps Watch at Kentucky Derby (May 2015)
- Presidio of Monterey Hazmat Exercise (Mar 2015)
- Scenario Planning for WMD-CST CBRNE Exercise (Jan 2015)
- In Pictures: 21st WMD Civil Support Team (Dec 2014)
- CBRNe Big Picture: WMD-CST Skills Validation (Dec 2014)
- WMD-CSTs Deploy New Situational Awareness Tool (Nov 2014)
- WMD-CST Team Management CNGBI 3501.00 (Jul 2014)
- Preparing for CBRNE Threats: Exercise Vigilant Guard (May 2014)
- The Science of Detecting and Defeating Radiological Threats (Apr 2014)
- JECC Integrates with JTF-Civil Support During CBRN Exercise (Sep 2013)
- FLIR Awarded WMD-Civil Support Team Kit Contract (Nov 2012)
- Rhetoric and Readiness In DOD’s Civil Support Missions (Aug 2012)
- Guard’s WMD-CSTs Can Respond Faster Than Other Federal Assets (May 2012)
- MRIGlobal Wins CBRN Mobile Lab Contract (Mar 2012)
- US CBRN Response Enterprise
- CBRN / WMD State Level Response and Inter-Agency Relationships
- Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Teams Overview
- Preparing the U.S. Army for Homeland Security