Published: July 25, 2006 11:09 pm         

Military specialists working with 181st Fighter Wing to prepare for event of domestic terrorist attack

A team of military specialists trained to respond in the event of a terrorist attack or natural disaster are conducting exercises with the 181st Fighter Wing in Terre Haute.

The Indiana Air National Guard unit has been hosting the Indianapolis-based 53rd Indiana Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team, which is preparing the 5th Illinois Civil Support Team for an upcoming operational inspection.

Members of the 181st Fighter Wing also participated in the exercises, which began Monday and will conclude Thursday.

The groups have been working together to enhance preparedness in the event of domestic terrorist attacks, said Lt. Col. John Newman, the community manager for the 181st Fighter Wing.

Civil Support Teams, developed in the late 1990s, exist throughout the United States. The teams are designed to identify chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high-explosive weapons. They also are expected to assist local response teams, such as fire departments and emergency management services, during an attack or other situation.

Both the Indiana and the Illinois teams are able to respond to disasters anywhere in the U.S. The Indiana team assisted after Sept. 11, as well as during the Columbia space shuttle disaster.

More than $20 million worth of specialty and high-tech equipment has been stationed at the 181st Fighter Wing since Monday, allowing the local teams to practice with real communications and decontamination systems.

Major Paul Navas III, commander of the Indiana unit, said he wants the community to be aware that his team is prepared in the event of a crisis.

“The first time something like this happens, we don’t want that to be the first time local fire and EMS personnel and military responders meet,” Navas said Monday. “My job as a commander is to protect the domestic side of things. The war in Iraq is the away game, but this is the home game.”

The Indiana team, which has 22 members, has a decontamination unit that can be assembled and ready to process individuals within 45 minutes of arriving on a scene, said one of the non-commissioned officers who is charged with operating the unit. Navas asked that names of team members be withheld for security purposes.

Team members are able to decontaminate and contain any liquid, vapor or other substance and monitor potential victims.

One type of equipment used in the exercises is a Suburban sport utility vehicle known as an “Advon.” The vehicle, which provided the only communications for the first three days after the Hurricane Katrina in Hancock County, Miss., is outfitted with a satellite and wireless Internet capability.

The vehicle is usually the very first on the scene in the event of a weapons of mass destruction emergency, said a first sergeant with the Indiana team. The Advon can provide communications services within 20 minutes of arrival, he said.

The technology allows teams to be in contact with anyone even when conventional communication is unavailable, such as when phones and cell phone towers were down during the Katrina situation.

The first sergeant said he is proud to be part of such a sophisticated outfit.

“I always say if you’ve got God’s phone number, we can call him,” he said.

Deb McKee can be reached at (812) 231-4254 or deb.mckee@tribstar.com.