Survey Team Leader SFC Craig Keller instructs Ssgt Brody Kirkland in removing the protective chemical suits following entry into Cumberland High in Calhoun

Georgia’s 4th Civil Support Team-WMD was recently awarded an Outstanding Unit Citation award from the Department of Health and Human Services for extensive efforts in the training of humanitarian assistance workers in the handling of hazardous substances during the War on Terrorism from 2001 through 2003.

The 4th CST was responsible for providing extensive individual training in the detection and assesssm3ent of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive threats in support to operations in Central Asia, Africa, and the Republic of Georgia and for Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The citation presented to Major Jeff Allen, Commander 4th WMD-CST, recognized the extensive hazardous substance training provided by unit members to international public health workers who would be called to respond to foreign disasters.

“It is our understanding that the 4th CST is the only military unit in the National Guard to have been a recipient of this unit citation from the Dept of Health and Human Services,” said Allen. Also receiving HHS certificates were Maj Gen David Poythress and the Joint Operations Directorate.

CST Respond to Simulated Columbine-Type Event in Calhoun.

The 22-members of Georgia’s CST were recently airlifted to Calhoun in response to a simulated Columbine-styled terrorist threat at a local private school. The team airlifted into the small campus of Cumberland Academy in Gordon County on a report of two teens suspected of developing hazardous materials in the schools laboratory and threatening school officials.

Following a carefully planned strategy with local first responders from Gordon County and the City of Calhoun, Guardsmen of the 4th CST suited up in their protective chemical ensembles and cautiously entered the suspected contaminated high school laboratory. Once inside the lab, telltale chemical residues and opened containers of potentially hazardous chemicals tested the Team’s capability to detect and analyze the level of the threat and provide assistance for local officials.

While the exercise lasted only a few hours, the coordinated efforts between the CST and local responders provided valuable experience and suggested improved coordination between Georgia’s CST and the local emergency workers.

Eleven More CST Fielded Meeting National Goal

In other news involving the nation’s CSTs, eleven new WMD-CSTs have been fielded bringing the total to 55 the number of certified CST units in the nation and fulfilling the request of Congress that every state and territory have a WMD-CST. Georgia’s CST was on of the initial ten teams organized in 1998.