Responding to Armageddon: the National Guard Bureau weapons of mass destruction civil support teams

On 9 September 2003, the government issued a warning that terrorists could employ chemical or biological weapons to attack civilian targets within the continental United States. At the time, we had already experienced examples of domestic weapons of mass destruction (WMD), such as the Oklahoma City bombing, the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks, and the anthrax-contaminated mail. (1) Fortunately, the Department of Defense (DOD) established within the National Guard (NG) a unique unit organized and trained to provide domestic consequence management support for WMD incidents within the United States, its territories and possessions, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. (2) These 32 WMD civil support teams (CSTs) operate under the command and control of the state governors (and their equivalents in Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia) through their respective adjutants general. The National Guard Bureau (NGB) works closely with the U.S. Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) to ensure the standardization of the periodic CST external evaluations and has developed a Response Management Plan that places specific CSTs on a higher alert status for possible deployment to states that do not have a CST or that require backup from one or more additional CSTs. Understanding the skills of the WMD-CSTs, their organization and equipment, and how such teams are providing assistance throughout the country enhances our capability to respond quickly, effectively, and appropriately if disaster should threaten locally.

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