AMSTERDAM, N.Y. – Airmen and Soldiers of the New York National Guard’s 2nd Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team demonstrated proficiency in various tasks during a recent evaluation, including locating and identifying a radiation source and establishing a lab to analyze hazardous materials.
The two-day evaluation, held June 9 and June 11 and conducted by the National Guard’s Civil Support Training Activity, began with simulated local police and fire reports of radioactive material at Amsterdam, New York’s Shuttleworth Park. The 21 Airmen and Soldiers participating in the exercise were tasked with finding the radiation source and identifying it for local first responders and state agencies.
Survey team members Air Guard Tech Sgt. Karlie Foster and Army Guard Sgt. Jacob Crocetta each put on a breathing apparatus and hazmat suit before boarding a utility vehicle loaded with gear and entering the park to find the radiation source. They identified the radiation source, but the exercise then called for Crocetta to hit his head and go down, simulating a man-down event. The team also was charged with extracting him.
There are 11 collective tasks a Civil Support Team, or CST, must show proficiency in during an evaluation every 18 months, explained Willie Coleman, the head of the evaluation team.
Civil Support Teams were established to provide expertise in identifying chemical, biological and radiological hazards to local governments in each state. Additionally, they assess the hazard, advise local incident commanders and assist with requests for additional support. Some states, such as New York, have two Civil Support Teams.
The 2nd CST is based at Stratton Air Base in Scotia, N.Y. It handles missions in upstate New York and is prepared to travel anywhere in the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Region II. The 24th CST, based at Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn, is responsible for handling missions in New York City and on Long Island.
For the recent evaluation, members of the 2nd CST began the day unsure when the emergency call would come in or where they would go. Once they arrived at the location with their vehicles, they deployed just as they would in a real-world situation.
The complication was the simulated head injury, said Sgt. Evan Cunningham, a 2nd CST survey team member. Cunningham’s survey team was sent in to retrieve Crocetta and take him back to the decontamination station. Another team then took over and put Crocetta through the decontamination process so he could be safely moved for further care.
That process went smoothly, Cunningham said.
“My partner was super helpful. We were able to communicate well,” he said.
Lt. Col. Andrew McClure, the commander of the 2nd CST, said he was pleased with the Soldiers and Airmen.
“I saw a flawless extraction of the man down, there was zero hesitation, which is what we're talking about, when saving a life, we can't hesitate,” McClure said.
He wasn’t surprised because the CST trains regularly, McClure said.
“As always, the military is always improving our processes and how we do things. The more we do it, the more confident we are and we will find out whether something's working the way we wanted to,” said McClure.
The 2nd CST trains regularly with local fire departments and police, as well as state and federal agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, McClure said.
The second part of the two-day evaluation took place June 11 at a hotel in Schenectady, New York. That training scenario focused on working inside a building. The CST members found simulated dangerous material and set up a lab to analyze it.
At the end of both days, evaluators determined the CST members had met the standard, said Air Guard Lt. Col. James McCauley, the training officer for the New York National Guard’s joint operations directorate.
The 2nd CST’s evaluation also was observed by five members of the Swedish Army, who were there as part of the New York National Guard’s training partnership with Sweden’s military. Sweden and New York have been paired through the Department of War National Guard Bureau’s State Partnership Program since 2024.
Sgt. Sanna Johansson, a Swedish Army decontamination specialist, noted some differences between how her Army does things and how the National Guard does. She said the Swedish Army usually trains for mass decontamination of up to 100 people rather than smaller numbers, and the decontamination line is from 10 meters to 300 meters long.
“The most significant difference between how we do this in Sweden, is that you throw everything away afterwards,” she said.
“In Sweden, we try to take everything back and reuse,” she said.
Also, the Swedish Army focuses more on the wartime aspects of a Chemical, Biological, Radiological or Nuclear, or CBRN, attack, so its members “are equipped to do warfare, so we go in armed,” said Capt. Anton Palmgren, who is assigned to Sweden’s CBRN Defence Center.