Global Security Newswire

The U.S. Defense Department said Thursday it had designated Washington and Ohio as the first U.S. states to form new National Guard domestic security units assigned to respond to a WMD attack (see GSN, May 27).

A need for the WMD response forces was outlined in the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review. The National Guard forces are intended to operate in cooperation with the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency to conduct quick responses to attacks involving chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or large-explosive weapons [CBRNE], the Pentagon said in a press release.

The Pentagon intends to set up National Guard response units in all 10 FEMA territories, officials said. The Washington and Ohio units are expected to be set up by September 2011, with the other eight slated to be ready by the end of September 2012.

"The thing we all worry about is a terrorist with a weapon of mass destruction," said Navy Adm. James Winnefeld, who leads the U.S. Northern Command, in released remarks. "And, increasingly, we worry about terrorists who are realizing that they don’t need a big boom to make a difference."

While "we don’t believe we are in imminent danger at this very moment," the admiral said, the understanding that some states and extremist organizations are attempting to acquire unconventional arms demonstrates the necessity of the National Guard WMD units.

Each of the 10 WMD units is expected to involve 570 National Guard airmen and soldiers, some of whom would be biological and chemical arms specialists. The units would be capable of deploying by land in a period of six to 12 hours after a WMD attack. They would provide emergency medical aid, search and rescue support and decontamination capabilities, among other resources.

"We are working very hard to ensure that we are as ready as we can be with as much lifesaving capability as we can have on as short notice as we can," according to Winnefeld.

Each U.S. state and territory now has a National Guard WMD civil support unit that includes roughly 50 personnel, Winnefeld said. Should an attack take place, the civil units would carry out the first assessment and provide some limited medical care.

Above that level are the 17 CBRNE Enhanced Response Force around the nation, each with between 200 and 300 specialists, and then the CBRNE Consequence Management Reaction Forces, comprised of thousands of personnel, that would be dispatched following a large-scale attack by the affected state's governor.

The Washington and Ohio National Guard forces would be developed from two of the Enhanced Response Forces, which would be replaced (U.S. Defense Department release, June 3).