{"id":148881,"date":"2024-04-12T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-04-12T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=148881"},"modified":"2024-04-13T03:35:36","modified_gmt":"2024-04-13T03:35:36","slug":"pennsylvania-guard-wmd-civil-support-team-completes-exercise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=148881","title":{"rendered":"Pennsylvania Guard WMD Civil Support Team Completes Exercise"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Members of the Pennsylvania National Guard\u2019s 3rd Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team conducted a training proficiency exercise April 11, 2024, at Bloomsburg University in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. The team was evaluated by a U.S. Army North team.
(Pennsylvania National Guard photo by Wayne V. Hall)
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BLOOMSBURG, Pa. \u2013 The Pennsylvania National Guard\u2019s 3rd Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team conducted a training exercise April 11 to validate its proficiency.<\/p>\n

In the exercise scenario, potentially contaminated items were discovered on the bleachers and in the press box before a collegiate track meet at Bloomsburg University\u2019s Rober B. Redman Stadium.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, in the world we live in, bad people want to try to do bad things,\u201c said Air Force Lt. Col. Jake Derivan, commander, 3rd WMD-CST. \u201cWe\u2019re here to try to keep that from happening, or at least mitigate the problem if it occurs. So, if you have a lot of people together, if there\u2019s a sporting event, a lot of times we\u2019re there. We\u2019re here for the commonwealth.\u201d<\/p>\n

This specialized 22-member unit responds to incidents involving chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear high-yield explosives by identifying substances, toxic industrial chemicals and materials.<\/p>\n

To maintain its proficiency, the team must undergo an external evaluation every 18 months by a U.S. Army North team. The evaluation serves as the team\u2019s Department of Defense accreditation.<\/p>\n

Derivan said the evaluation is conducted as realistically as possible.\u00a0Just as in a real\u00a0situation, the team works through its checklist as it evaluates the scene and neutralizes any potential hazards.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe go in blind to the actual situation,\u201d said Sgt. 1st Class William Amerman, a chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear specialist who has been with the 3rd WMD-CST for about seven years.<\/p>\n

When the team arrives, it conducts reconnaissance, establishes its operational footprint and coordinates with the incident commander, often a local fire chief or senior law enforcement officer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do not take over the situation; we support,\u201d said Derivan, who has been part of the team for over 15 years and its commander for nearly two years.<\/p>\n

The team responds methodically, working for several hours in an encapsulated suite to keep it safe from contaminants.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt can be draining mentally and physically,\u201d Amerman said. \u201cBut you just got to have the perseverance to push through it and get the mission done.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more National Guard news<\/a><\/p>\n

National Guard Facebook<\/a><\/p>\n

National Guard X<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Members of the Pennsylvania National Guard\u2019s 3rd Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team conducted a training proficiency exercise April 11, 2024, at Bloomsburg University in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. The team was evaluated by a U.S. Army North team.(Pennsylvania National Guard photo by Wayne V. Hall) (Photo Credit: Wayne Hall) VIEW ORIGINAL BLOOMSBURG, Pa. \u2013 The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":528,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-148881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148881","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=148881"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148881\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":148882,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148881\/revisions\/148882"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/528"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=148881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=148881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=148881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}