FAS

Managing WMD Civil Support Teams

06.05.06 | 1 min read | Text by Steven Aftergood

In the event of an attack against the United States involving weapons of mass destruction, National Guard units known as WMD civil support teams (CST) would be called upon to respond.

“The mission of the WMD CST is to support civil authorities at a domestic CBRNE [chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or high-yield explosive] incident site by identifying CBRNE agents/substances, assessing current and projected consequences, advising on response measures, and assisting with requests for additional support.”

The operation of WMD civil support teams was described in a recent National Guard publication on “Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team Management,” January 12, 2006 (1.2 MB PDF).

Further detail is presented in “Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures,” U.S. Army Field Manual FM 3-11.22, June 2003 (233 pages, 6 MB PDF).