An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Home : News : Article View
NEWS | April 30, 2012

Guam, New Mexico Guard CSTs perform disaster training

By Army National Guard Matt Young Hawaii National Guard

called upon a Civil Support Team to investigate the findings. Fortunately, this was only a training exercise.

The 14 members of the combined CST are specifically qualified to deal with hazardous materials, have more than 1,000 hours of training and are trying to teach area responders how to better handle potential disasters and terrorist attacks during this event.

"Even a small-scale attack directed at a maritime target in Hawaii could disrupt maritime operations and create an immediate need for increased security at all regional ports," said Ray Toves, director, Civil Support Team Training and Readiness Division, 196th Infantry Brigade.

"An attack using a weapon of mass destruction would further complicate the emergency response efforts and would create a tremendous burden on a wide variety of local, state and federal recourses," Toves said.

When the CST arrives on the scene, they work for the local incident commander and bring him a unique capability to analyze suspected hazardous agents on site. Their first step is to set up their operations area, ready their medical truck, check all equipment and set up a decontamination area.

"The first thing we try to do is have our teams set up the equipment and prep the [decontamination] area while the leaders collect the latest [intelligence] to brief the entry team," said Army Maj. Xavier Miller, commander of the 64th CST, New Mexico.

During the KOH exercise, the three-person entry team, which consisted of team chief Army Staff Sgt. Anthony Cruz of the 94th CST, Army Spc. Patrick Gallegos of the 64th CST and Air Force Senior Airman Christine Eclavea of the 94th CST, got their mission brief, suited up and proceeded to board the tugboat.

Once on board, the entry CST began taking samples of the air and checking for abnormal readings on their machines that would detect anything out of the ordinary.

As the CST made their way into the kitchen of the tugboat they came upon the vials, bomb materials and mortars. The team continued to take readings, air samples and pictures of the suspect devices and carefully bagged the vials to bring them back for further testing.

While these procedures are standard for responding to a hazardous material threat, not everything about this training exercise was what the teams are used to.

"This mission was unique in that we were working on a tugboat," Gallegos said. "When I saw what we were going into, I was like 'whoa', this will be interesting."

One of the key factors I thought was performing missions that some of the participating CST members may not have been used to, Miller said.

Miller believes KOH was a great and unique opportunity to be able to come out and work with other CSTs from Guam and across the states.

 

 

Related Articles
U.S. Soldiers with the Army National Guard speak with D.C. locals while patrolling Metro Center Aug 26, 2025. About 2,000 National Guard members are supporting the D.C. Safe and Beautiful mission providing critical support to the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department in ensuring the safety of all who live, work, and visit the District.
Guard Members From Six States, D.C. on Duty in Washington in Support of Local, Fed Authorities
By Sgt. 1st Class Jon Soucy, | Aug. 29, 2025
WASHINGTON – More than 2,000 National Guard Soldiers and Airmen from six states and the District of Columbia are on duty in Washington as part of Joint Task Force – District of Columbia in support of local and federal...

Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, Maj. Gen. Russel Honore, Task Force Katrina commander, and Brig. Gen. John Basilica, 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team commander, talk to news media during the aftermath of Hurricane Rita on Sep. 29, 2005. Basilica was appointed commander of Task Force Pelican, responsible for coordinating National Guard hurricane response efforts across the State. The task force included tens of thousands of National Guard Soldiers from Louisiana and other states.
Louisiana Guard’s Tiger Brigade Marks 20th Anniversary of Redeployment and Hurricane Response
By Rhett Breerwood, | Aug. 29, 2025
NEW ORLEANS – This fall, the Louisiana National Guard’s 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, known as the Tiger Brigade, commemorates the 20th anniversary of its redeployment from Iraq in September 2005, coinciding with the...

Alaska Air National Guard HH-60G Pave Hawk aviators and Guardian Angels, assigned to the 210th and 212th Rescue Squadrons, respectively, conduct a hoist rescue demonstration while participating in a multi-agency hoist symposium at Bryant Army Airfield on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, July 22, 2025. The symposium, hosted by Alaska Army National Guard aviators assigned to Golf Company, 2-211th General Support Aviation Battalion, included U.S. Coast Guard crews assigned to Sector Western Alaska and U.S. Arctic out of Air Stations Kodiak and Sitka, Alaska Air National Guardsmen with the 176th Wing rescue squadrons, U.S. Army aviators from Fort Wainwright’s 1-52nd General Support Aviation Battalion, Alaska State Troopers, and civilian search and rescue professional volunteers from the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group. The collaborative training drew on the participants’ varied backgrounds, experiences, and practices, to enhance hoist proficiency and collective readiness when conducting life-saving search and rescue missions in Alaska’s vast and austere terrain. (Alaska Army National Guard photo by Alejandro Peña)
Alaska Air Guard Conducts Multiple Hoist Rescues of Stranded Rafters on Kichatna River
By Staff Sgt. Seth LaCount, | Aug. 29, 2025
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — Alaska Air National Guard members with the 176th Wing rescued three rafters Aug. 28 after their raft flipped over on the Kichatna River.The Alaska Rescue Coordination Center opened...