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'Hot Zone' Draws Volunteers
Wednesday, April 17, 2002
By Linda D. Kozaryn
American Forces Press Service

Army Capt. Ken Napier directs Ohio emergency management officials to a demonstration site set up at Deer Creek State Park, near Columbus, April 8, 2002.
Image Credit: Linda D. Kozaryn -- AFIS.

"The [mail] trucks from Washington were supposed to be packed a certain way," Denny Tomcik recalled [during the anthrax threat]. "When they opened the first truck, the baggage [to be irradiated] was thrown around and there were torn containers. We shut it back up and called the team in. They came in, did their tests and got things back in order immediately. They did an incredibly professional job. We were very happy to have them."

MOUNT STERLING, Ohio -- AFIS
Entering a contaminated "hot zone" is deadly business, as Army Maj. David Seitz and his team of 21 Ohio Army and Air National Guardsmen are well aware.

Two years ago, Seitz and his team volunteered to join the 52nd Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team. Since then, they've studied, trained, drilled, practiced and studied some more as they prepared to work in environments potentially contaminated with chemicals or biological agents.

Army Staff Sgt. Raymond Davis, a survey team leader with the 52nd Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team, explains the team's self-contained breathing apparatus to Ohio emergency management officials.
(Additional photos).
Image Credit: Linda D. Kozaryn -- AFIS.

Today, they know their mission inside and out. Like a precision drill team, they set up and tear down their unified command suite, dismounted analytical platform and other high-tech equipment. Instead of M-16 rifles, these troops wield gamma spectrometers, chemical and biological detectors and monitors, self-contained breathers, and decontamination systems.

"These are the highest caliber soldiers and airmen I've ever worked around," said Seitz, deputy team commander. "They're dedicated and they take this job very seriously. If people on this team know there's a task that needs to be done, they go straight at it. They're proud of the mission that might be imposed upon us, depending upon what happens in the world."

The unit is one of 32 civil support teams set up by presidential directive in the mid-1990s to support civil authorities in the event of domestic chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high explosive incidents. Their tasks are to identify agents or substances, assess current and projected consequences, advise local authorities on response measures, and help with requests for state support.

Seitz said the Ohio team has made a concerted effort to introduce itself to first responders throughout the state. As a result, he said, state officials now welcome the 52nd with open arms.
(More: DoD News Source)
2002 © The United States Department of Defense.

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