Radiation contamination a real fear

  • Published
  • By Patricia Chavez
  • Defense Threat Reduction Agency Public Affairs
Kirtland Air Force Base, NM --  Addressing radiation fear is a vital aspect of the radiological training provided by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency Reserve Component. These Reservists assigned to DTRA are actively educating both DOD and civil first responders on how to prepare for any terrorist radiological incident.

"The Reserve component instructs responders on how to respond to the threat of a radiological or nuclear incident," said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Lisa Day, DTRA Reserve Component Deputy Chief. "We ensure that first responders understand what radiation is and we correct many of the misconceptions about radiation."

DTRA's reservists have been establishing themselves as a unique training resource for the Department of Defense, federal, local and state first responders. The multiservice reservists provide training on response and support to civil authorities to mitigate consequences of a weapons of mass destruction attack.

"This training is crucial to those who are the front lines of responding to an incident, radiological or otherwise," said U.S. Air Force Capt. Thomas Poupakis, the RC's Officer in Charge. "The DoD and other federal state and local agencies are taking the threat of terrorism seriously and are being proactive in preparing agency members and local responders on incident response and awareness of the effects of exposure to radiation." First responders are typically firefighters, police officers and emergency management technicians.

A terrorist attack using nuclear or biological weapons can likely be expected before 2013, reported the Commission on the Prevention of WMD Proliferation and Terrorism in January 2009. The Commission was established to address the grave threat that proliferation of WMD poses to the U.S. The Director of National Intelligence publicly agreed with the report's threat assessment.

Because of the threat, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates empowered the National Guard and Reserve when he merged active-duty military and reserve components into an "integrated total force."

This validated the Reserve's homeland defense role by mandating "that the National Guard and Reserves have a lead role and form the backbone of DOD operations in the homeland," in a Nov. 26, 2008, memorandum.

This memorandum stemmed from recommendations made by the Commission on the National Guard and Reserves which was tasked to assess roles, mission and funding of the National Guard and Reserve components.

DOD continues to address threats posed by proliferation of WMD material, weapons and technology that is a direct physical threat to the U.S. and other nations as delineated in the 2010 U.S. Defense Quadrennial Review. The QDR is a legislatively mandated review of DOD strategy and sets out the priorities of the Reserves and the National Guard.

"U.S. defense leaders consider the threat of terrorism a very real risk and have made it more urgent. We can't rest on our laurels and be complacent because we haven't had a major attack -- we have to be prepared to respond," Day said.

The RC takes mobile training teams on the road nationwide.

"The best part of the mobile training is that it is virtually free," said Poupakis. "The only cost is travel for the highly experienced Reserve and Guard subject-matter experts that provide the training. We're saving our customers thousands of dollars and providing invaluable training."

The component's Reservists have a vast array of knowledge, ranging from nuclear engineers to health physicists to law enforcement experts. Some have more than 30 years in emergency planning and response, and nuclear science.

U.S. Navy Lt. J.G. Carlos Argueta is a police officer with more than 23 years' experience in law enforcement, ranging from emergency management to high profile critical incidents. He has served on the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force and Violent Crimes Task Force. He is on active-duty with the RC working with the Albuquerque Police Department.

"We reach out to the community on various levels," Lt. J.G. Carlos Argueta said. "The education piece is important to the community at large. The responders live in the community that they protect, and the training trickles down to the rest of the community."