CAMP MURRAY, Wash. - Air Force Tech. Sgt. Andrew Imke, a member of the Washington National Guard's 10th Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team (CST) here, was calmly waiting to deploy May 1 for National Level Exercise 2008 (NLE-08).
It was nothing out of the ordinary, he said. He and his 21 other CST Guardmembers await and prepare for moment's-notice exercises and real-world emergency responses every day.
Imke, a CST survey team member and the NCO-in-charge of decontamination, joined the team in January 2004.
"It doesn't matter what your background experience is coming on to the team because there is so much you have to learn," said Imke.
On average, a CST team member undergoes 800 to 1,200 hours of initial emergency responder training aside from training in their regular military specialties.
The Guard's involvement in NLE-08 May 1-8 includes such training and also includes an opportunity to work through the state's joint operations center in coordination with U.S. Northern Command and other military forces and civilian agencies as part of a national response.
The Department of Homeland Security exercise tests the interoperability of local, state, federal and military responders in support of the governor in the event of a catastrophic emergency. The Washington venue includes a mock terrorist attack with weapons of mass destruction.
"Most exercises we do are really good experiences, especially when we work with the civilian first responders and the federal agencies," said Imke.
Currently, there is one National Guard CST in each U.S. state and territory, and three states have, or will have, two teams. The federally-funded teams were created to augment local and regional response capabilities in events known or suspected to involve the use of chemical, biological or radiological agents.
For Army Sgt. Chad Choy, this will be his fourth major exercise. Choy also works on the 10th CST's survey team and deploys in advance of the main team to rapidly support civil authorities.
"Basically, we are the first line of defense and offense in accessing the situation and kind of paint a picture for the entire civil authorities and the command staff so they know what they are addressing and what they will be attacking," he said.
Choy said he likes the element of surprise encountered in training exercises.
"I like puzzles, which is typically what a terrorist event would entail," he said. "There are lot of unknowns, possibly booby traps, which we have to look for. There's identifying certain situations, certain processes in the event and the site itself and being able to report that back in the event of an emergency."
The team is participating in NLE-08 at "Leschi Town" on Fort Lewis, Wash., which is an active-duty Army urban combat training center.