MADISON, Wis. –
With the goal of honing its readiness, the Wisconsin National Guard’s 54th Civil Support Team (CST) faced a realistic training scenario last Wednesday, Aug. 28, which mobilized its members and included the notional “discovery” of a makeshift laboratory in a home renovation company warehouse, just off the beltline on Madison’s west side. In the scenario, a warehouse worker calls 911 and members of the Madison Fire Department arrive on the scene and detect radiation.
This sequence activates the 54th CST, a specialized unit of full-time Army and Air National Guard members trained to respond to chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear emergencies.
Lt. Col. Seth Kaste, the CST team commander, said the exercise was very successful.
It was a “combined lanes” training exercise, during which different tasks and skills are tested simultaneously, and was designed to prepare the CST for its 18-month evaluation, scheduled for early 2025.
The exercise took place in a warehouse belonging to Bella Domicile, a local Madison home renovation firm that agreed to host the activity to provide a realistic setting.
For the exercise, two survey members entered the warehouse to search for the radiation source. Having found it, they secured it for removal. The exercise included a separate release of an unknown hazardous substance in a different location, requiring the team to dispatch a smaller element, as well as responding to a team member requiring emergency medical aid.
Wisconsin’s 54th CST conducts this type of training annually with U.S. Army North – the Army component of the U.S. Northern Command – which is headquartered in Fort Sam Houston, Texas, and has the mission of detecting, deterring and defeating threats to the Homeland and evaluating State unit readiness throughout the nation.
“We conduct exercises and training like this at least monthly. But to have members of the U.S. Army North develop the exercise and observe our team is very beneficial to our readiness. We were able to conduct a realistic training lane with expert evaluators who provided precise feedback on our processes,” Kaste said.
Kaste said that all 22 full-time members of the CST were available for the exercise — unusual, considering the unit’s high operations tempo and training requirements.
“This allowed all team members to solely focus on their primary assignment. Developing a plan to make entry into an unknown environment with a potential for extremely hazardous conditions takes a team effort. Our team is exceptional at this process, but only because of the numerous repetitions we have with partner agencies, training with other CSTs, and evaluations from U.S. Army North.”
Kaste said the 54th CST is known as one of the premier civil support teams in the nation because of the commitment by its members to improve themselves and their teammates.
Both the unit’s leading noncommissioned officer, 1st Sgt. Edward Schmitt, and team commander Kaste “set very high expectations” for the team, he said. “The 54th CST has some of the most capable Soldiers and Airmen of any organization in the National Guard, and I’m extremely proud to see them deliver exceptional results whenever asked to deploy in support of a domestic emergency or conduct a stand-by mission at a high-profile event.”