Photo By Maj. Leslie Reed | Billings Fire Capt. Jason Schilling (center right), the notional Incident Commander...... read more read more
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Oregon’s 102nd Civil Support Team loaded up and hit the road, joining other members from the National Guard Bureau’s Region 6 for a Joint Training Exercise (JTX), dubbed “Yellowstone” in the Bozeman, Montana vicinity, over April 22-26, 2024. Thirteen members of the Oregon team participated, with a small contingent staying back in the rear (in Oregon), in the event of a real-world call-out.
“I think we were all pretty excited about this one. We haven’t had a lot of time to train together over the last year, we’ve been split up doing other individual things, so we were really looking forward to the exercise here,” says 1st Sgt. Robert McCree, “our guys are excited to come out and show their skills.”
The National Guard’s Region 6 includes Alaska, Idaho, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington, and Wyoming.
“We’re a tight knit community,” said Sgt. 1st Class Derek Harding, Reconnaissance Non-Commissioned Officer with Montana’s 83rd Civil Support Team, “and we decided we wanted to extend the invite to other teams if they were able to make it. So, like Mississippi, we have a great working relationship with them, so we extended the offer.” In addition to the Mississippi National Guard’s 47th Civil Support Team, the Nebraska National Guard’s 72nd Civil Support Team was also in attendance, though neither is assigned to Region 6.
After hosting the annual regional Civil Support Team for Region 6 last year, the Oregon team had an appreciation for how much work goes into creating and supporting event, “We had five connexes (cargo containers) stuffed with labs, notional chemical agents and radiation, it was a tough, tough challenge for the teams there,” said McCree.
This year, it was no different for Montana’s 83rd Civil Support Team in the lead. “Getting all the lanes together, along with the liaison officers, site safeties, coordinating everybody – our incident commanders, our venues, making sure we have permission to utilize the resources we need, we’ve been at this for quite a long time” recalled Harding. As the event start date drew closer, “we came down to Bozeman (from Helena) once every two weeks just to double check and recheck and make sure everything would go as smoothly as possible, that these guys have a really good training opportunity.”
Participating Soldiers and Airmen worked in conjunction with local first responders, who acted as incident commanders, in line with the National Incident Response Framework, ensuring a common operating picture. Incident commanders are responsible for the management of the overall emergency response.
Montana’s first responders also played a critical connection when it came to selecting training site locations. “While we were choosing the sites, we were also thinking about the logistical aspect, so there’s a lot of opportunity in the Bozeman area, however, our teams take up a very
large footprint, so parking accommodations were a consideration, said Harding, “We spoke with our local responders, and they gave us great contacts and were very helpful with choosing the sites.”
A CST footprint at full-strength consists of eight vehicles and up to four trailers, though depending on the situation and what capabilities may be needed, it is typically smaller.
Going out to Montana, the Oregon Civil Support Team’s 1st Sgt. Robert McCree knew they were “going to be partnered with a team, that was part of our objective, to do a joint mission and a relief in place (RIP), we just didn’t know who it was.” Once on the ground, Oregon was partnered with the North Dakota National Guard’s 81st Civil Support Team, together with Bozeman Firefighter Colter Dimas and Billings Fire Capt. Travis Schilling.
Together, both teams tackled two difference training scenarios, the first responding to an upcoming political event where they conducted a joint hazard assessment of the venue. And later, a call out to respond to a suspicious chemical smell from inside a building. Part of the second scenario included conducting a relief in place, sometimes referred to as a RIP, where one team subs-in, taking the mission over from another. Oregon had initially responded to the call, but after completing their recon and site characterization handed the mission over to North
Dakota to complete.
The most valuable part for McCree was “interfacing with the other teams, the quick planning, adjusting our tactics and procedures to meet the needs, it’s challenging because there’s always varied communication, how our team does things and how other teams do things.”
McCree, who has served with the CST for more than 17-years describes “the amount of interactions you have with first responders, the scope of the things we get to do, it’s bananas, there is no other job where you can do these things” highlighting further that “we have two positions that will be available in the next year – one as the communication chief, and one as a combat medic.”
Two of the team’s newest members, Sgt. Juan Avila and Spc. Maximus Reischke, both survey team members with the 102nd, can’t say enough good things about their first two years with the team.
Working with another team (North Dakota) “was different for sure, especially with a team you’ve never met, it takes a couple reps to get integrated with one another. There was maybe a bit of confusion
initially, but we figured it out, going back to our survey team basics. We all have the same baseline knowledge,” says Sgt. Avila.
Spc. Reischke remembers while serving in the 1186th Military Police Company, a good friend telling him about a position that was opening up. He attended an informational briefing, and “I couldn’t thank him more for it,” Reischke says, “this has been a wonderful experience, I love what I do, I love that I can do this every day and there is always something to learn.”
Avila, a former chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) specialist with 2nd Battalion, 218th Field Artillery, thought he would try to join the active guard reserve (AGR) world, “I applied to a couple jobs in the new hire pool. I got rejected the first time. Then on my second
attempt, I got three different offers, two in the AGR pool and the one here (with the Civil Support Team), it was an easy choice. Now I’m here, and very grateful. It’s such a blessing, I learn something new every day, it keeps your mind working constantly. My brain has probably grown
twice the size since I got here,” he laughs.
“It looks intimidating at first,” recalls Reischke, “I didn’t have any experience with anything CBRN related. I was like what did I get myself into?” but he says, “They give you everything you need. If you apply for it and you get it, you’re going to love it.”
“There aren’t a lot of online resources if you’re interested,” says Avila, “but if you know where your CST is, go talk to them. Find out what they do. Ask if you can go in person to ask questions.”
Oregon’s 102nd Civil Support Team is headquartered at Army Aviation Support Facility 1 in Salem, Oregon.
| Date Taken: | 04.26.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 07.02.2024 18:29 |
| Story ID: | 475470 |
| Location: | BOZEMAN, MONTANA, US |
| Web Views: | 134 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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