.jpg)
TRAINING TO COUNTER A TERRORIST’S SUCCESS
Written by MARTY KAUCHAK
WMD CSTs and other DoD first responders rely on live, virtual and constructive training products to bolster skills
The Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Civil Support Teams (CSTs) were established to support local and state authorities at domestic WMD and Nuclear Biological and Chemical (NBC) incident sites by identifying agents and substances, assessing current and projected consequences, advising on response measures and assisting with requests for additional military support.
These low-profile joint units bring a wealth of WMD knowledge to intergovernmental agencies during crises as a result of their members’ in-depth training and earned certifications.
The international training industry provides live training devices, virtual simulators and constructive simulation to help the CSTs and other DoD first responders learn and then sharpen their skills for WMD events that nations dread to contemplate, but for which they vigorously prepare.
b
There are 55, 22-member CST teams. The personnel assigned to each team are Title 32, (Full Time Support) personnel from the Army or Air National Guard components. “They are operational 24 hours a day, seven days a week. These guys are not your standard Mobilization Day National Guard personnel,” said J. Clay McGuyer, science advisor (J35), National Guard Bureau.
Fifty-two of the fielded teams have been certified as mission-ready through an 18-to-24 month process which culminates in a report of certification sent from the secretary of defense to Congress.
There is a significant level of individual and collective (unit) training required to achieve that certification and maintain follow-on mission readiness. While the number of instructional hours varies according to team assignment, “the average amount of training for an individual is about 700 hours,” pointed out McGuyer.
One representative individual course is Civil-Support Skills, an entry-level course required of all newly reported CST members. The instruction is provided at Fort Leonard Wood through the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command.
CST members must also complete civilian-certification on different competencies in order to be interoperable with intergovernmental first responders. “They must be able to respond on a hazardous material team. So they must have NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) certification up to a hazardous material technician-level just to allow them to respond on site, which is critical,” observed McGuyer.
At the unit level, a team is required to complete a collective lane exercise and then an external evaluation by U.S. Army North to achieve certification.
To help maintain unit-level proficiency CSTs are annually funded for 12 collective training exercises. These events include other DoD units and first responders from intergovernmental and interagency organizations. Although the framework for the scenarios are most often at the county or state levels, CSTs have also participated in national capstone events, including the Joint National Training Capability-sponsored Determined Promise series of exercises involving DoD and its interagency and intergovernmental partners.
STILL ROOM FOR TECHNOLOGY
While many CST training tasks involve hands-on skills and competencies which cannot be supported by current technology, “we still try to take advantage of Distributed Learning (DL) whenever we can. We do, from time to time with our sustainment programs use the Army’s Video Teleconferencing systems. There is also an effort to push some of our training to a DL format,” said McGuyer.
One existing DL-formatted course in the CST inventory is the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)- sponsored National Incident Management System course. The on-line course is completed through the DHS website.
While the CSTs use stateof- the-art WMD simulations and simulators, the office declined to discuss specific products.
The CSTs and other DoD first responders for WMD incidents have an array of live training devices, virtual simulators and constructive simulations from which to select.
SOME INDUSTRY OFFERINGS
Springfield, Va.-based ITA, Inc. offers the training audience a wide range of custom, multi-media software training products on WMD topics.
The duration of most instruction is from 30-minutes to 16 hours. While several courses support commanders and other leaders in the field who must integrate WMD criteria into base and other infrastructure security plans, the majority of courses support WMD team members who will operate the services’ equipment in a hazardous environment.
Two courses caught our attention during a review of the company’s Website (http://www.itapages.com). The Nuclear, Biological, Chemical Reconnaissance System (NBCRS FOX), is an advanced interactive multimedia application that includes a description, assessment, documentation, instruction, and review on the U.S. Army’s M93A1 NBCRS FOX vehicle. A second course, the DoD Biological Sampling Kit Computer-based Training package, is designed for military personnel and other members of emergency and first responder teams. The software uses graphics, animations and narration to enhance the training. An interactive scenario allows users to enter a virtual environment and utilize a virtual DoD Biological Sampling Kit to test for biological agents.
Other instruction for operators includes a 4–hour interactive course on the AN/PDR-77 and other radiacs, and a 4-hour course on Portable Isotopic Neutron Spectroscopy.
Scranton. PA-based Inert Products, LLC (http://www.inertproducts.com) is a representative company that supplies WMD and associated live training products to service, intergovernmental and private sector security organizations.
“Our training aids can be configured to many different standards which most often, depend on the individual clients training situation. All of our products are inert and do not contain any type of energetic or hazardous materials,” said Robert Rozzi, owner. “Weapons of mass destruction (chemical biological radiological nuclear explosive), and improvised explosive devices [IED] have many similarities, as most biological, chemical or radiological dispersal devices would likely use an improvised explosive device to disperse the hazardous agent,” added Rozzi.
Since WMD units can respond to myriad scenarios, most of Inert Products’ WMD projects are completed on a customized basis, although its portfolio includes several different standard versions of each type of threat likely encountered.
“Biological and chemical weapons are most likely to be used in a terrorist attack, simply because the needed components are easier to obtain and utilize than a nuclear device. Simulated ‘dirty bombs’ or radiological dispersal devices are also available,” pointed out Rozzi. He added, “Most of our standard WMD products are set up for explosively dispersed agents. However, we do make simulated versions using other possible methods to disseminate weapons of mass destruction, which include breaking devices, spraying devices, direct deposit items, and information on vector tactics.”
While the company adds new versions of devices and products as threats emerge, it maintains a standard menu of inert, WMD training aids. Five representative products are the simulated chemical agent dispersal IED #1, simulated biological agent dispersal IED #1, simulated radiological material dispersal device #1, simulated suicide vest-biological dispersal IED, and simulated vehicle borne-IED and WMD training kit.
“We offer several versions of each above item. With most of these devices, many different concealment vessels are possible, with the most common being a backpack, duffle bag, or wooden crate or box. Coolers, suitcases, carry-on luggage, large handbags, metal tool boxes, even baby carriers and strollers are also likely methods,” concluded Rozzi.
Across the Atlantic, U.K.-based Argon Electronics supplies a range of simulation systems to provide real-time training in the nuclear, biological and chemical environment. Products include the Advanced Chemical Agent Detector (ACADA) Simulation (SIM), and other radiation and other detector simulators. The company’s systems have been sold into the U.S. and a number of NATO applications.
One recently fielded chemical simulator familiar with the U.S. DoD is the M22 ACADA/GID-3 SIM. The product “developed for military and civil use,” reported the company Website (http://www.argonelectronics.com). “The ACADA SIM can be used by any organization wishing to ensure its personnel are correctly trained in the use of the M22 ACADA. A powerful instructor remote simulates both nerve and blister attacks utilizing manual and automatic vapor cloud generation software. In addition, trainee errors are reported to the instructor in real time. The M22 ACADA SIM is compatible with the company’s CAMSIM [a simulation based on Smiths Detection Chemical Agent Monitor (CAM)], permitting realistic integrated chemical defense training to take place. The ACADA SIM does not require any form of preventative maintenance or regular calibration,” added the Website.
All 55 CST teams will have four ACADA SIM Simulators to train with. “In addition every CST team has the Argon Electronics CAMSIM Simulator to use for training as well,” pointed out Jerry Leurs, marketing executive, the JGW Group and Argon Electronics North American Marketing and Sales Representative.
One of Argon Electronics’ other recent radiological products is in step with the services’ efforts to include more tabletop exercises in their WMD training menu. RAD PlumeSIM was specifically designed to enable instrumented detector training to be provided as a table top exercise, in a classroom or over an extended geographical area for collective training while complementing the benefits of individual simulation instruments. This product is a radiological version of the CBRN PlumeSim, for users that want a training system for radiological products only.
The company’s family of PlumeSIM products enables “remote instructor management from a single location of Argon’s chemical and radiological simulator instruments in real time within fully configurable ‘virtual plumes’ including hot spots and deposition. Player locations and movements are indicated in on screen using almost any user configured mapping while a sophisticated data logging system provides valuable after-action review,” stated the company Website.
Argon Electronics will introduce significant product improvements in the near-term. “Within the next six months we shall release our new fully integrated simulation control system. This will enable exercises to take place in a classroom or in the field. Initial feedback obtained from agencies consulted during development has been beyond our expectations. One of the most important features of Argon simulators are low cost of ownership and upgradeability. Every simulator we have sold to date will be capable of upgrade to our new control system,” said Leurs.
DoD first responders and their leadership also have a variety of constructive simulations that can be scripted for either dedicated or partial WMD mission scenario play. One simulation of interest at the U.S. Army Medical Department Center and School, Battle Simulation Center (http://www.cs.amedd. army.mil/simcenter) is the Nuclear, Biological, Chemical Casualty Training System (NBC CTS).
The CTS is an interactive, distributed, client-server simulation system designed to train medical personnel in the management and treatment of casualties of nuclear, biological and chemical warfare.
“Users at different physical locations can assume various medical and command roles, cooperating in a single collective simulation,” stated the center Website. The homepage added, “To respond to the rapidly changing NBC threat environment, NBC CTS uses a datadriven approach in its simulation models. Weather, NBC agents, hazard area persistence and dispersion, medical progression and scenario are all modified or extended without changes to the software.” ♦