KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. — Twenty Alaska National Guardsmen traveled more than 2,600 miles to the Defense Nuclear Weapons School at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, N.M. to conduct premiere radiation response training Feb. 11-15.

“We came to train in New Mexico because in Alaska we don’t have the opportunity to train with live radiation sources that are as powerful as what’s available here,” said Lt. Col. Stephen Wilson, commander of the 103^rd Civil Support Team (Weapons of Mass Destruction), Alaska National Guard. “It gives us the opportunity to actually test our equipment and its capabilities and our analytical capabilities to determine what the sources are. It tests our team as a whole in our ability to respond to real radiological responses.”

Soldiers and Airmen with the 103^rd CST were augmented by two Soldiers hailing from the 55^th Civil Support Team (WMD) out of Minnesota and one from the 85^th Civil Support Team (WMD) out of Utah.

Wilson, said it is important to take advantage of joint-training opportunities so in a real-world situation, the transition into working with new people and departments is seamless.

“All 57 civil support teams are trained to the same standard so we are all modular,” Wilson said. “Being able to conduct joint operations with other civil support teams really sets us up for success in the future. These are the teams we will work with when we participate in a national level exercises or respond to a national level incident, be it man-made or a natural disaster. It’s mutually beneficial to have that level of interoperability prior to being called to respond to a national level incident.”

Soldiers and Airmen alternated classroom instruction with hands-on training, allowing them the opportunity to utilize their knowledge and hone their skills in simulated scenarios.

“It’s extremely important that the CST participates in radiological training because it’s one of the core events we can be called to assist with; it’s a perishable skill that not only requires knowledge but technique as well,” said Maj. Michael Jones, 103^rd CST (WMD), physician assistant. “There are so many different forms of radiation; not only do survey members need to be able to recognize them, they have to know which piece of equipment to use and what kinds of techniques to use in order to safely characterize the site they are called to support.”

The Guardsmen reacted to several different scenarios, some of which included notional terrorists building a radioactive dispersion system in the Manzano Mountain Tunnel Complex, as well as a notional downed aircraft incident. Although all of the scenarios were different, the goal was the same: to provide time for the Soldiers and Airmen to utilize their instruction and knowledge, while building their confidence as individuals and as a team.

“My principal goals team-wide were to have the confidence and capability to respond to a radiation hazard,” Wilson said. “One of the capabilities of a civil support team in the event of a chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear event is to be able to assist civil authorities in a radiological or nuclear disaster. The training we received this week will dovetail nicely into the training we’ll receive this spring. It all builds up to Exercise Vibrant Response, which is usually a nuclear disaster scenario, to be held in Indiana. All of the training we received here becomes building blocks for something larger.”

According to Wilson, even movement to the training has provided his team with learning experiences that will help them be as efficient as possible.

“The distance to the school and flying commercial air made us very cognizant of the equipment that was absolutely necessary for us to bring,” Wilson said. “Traveling by air is especially relevant to the 103^rdCST. Because of the location of many villages in Alaska, we always have to be conscious of the logistics of being able to reach an area that may not be on the road system.”

While working with some of the most highly accredited physicists in the world could be daunting for some, the 103^rd CST went into its training ready to learn as much as possible and came out even more ready to assist the community should the need arise.

“Coming to the Defense Nuclear Weapons School and working with the health physicists who are the very best in their field is a once in a lifetime training,” said Lt. Joseph Radke, 103^rd CST (WMD), survey team officer. “They’ve treated us just like family here. When you come into this type of high profile environment and deal with these types of professionals, you can’t help but leave this place feeling like you got the best education possible.”