National Guard will receive adequate funds in the short term to
respond to domestic weapons of mass destruction attacks, but some
long-term resources appear to be lacking, said Col. Camille Nichols,
project manager responsible for buying gear for the Guard’s
Civil Support Teams.
The teams were formed by the Guard to provide a quick reaction
force to respond to domestic attacks with biological, chemical,
radiological and nuclear weapons. When certification is complete,
every state, as well as Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands and
the District of Columbia, will have a civil support team. California,
as directed by Congress, will have two.
Among the teams’ pressing needs are command-and-control vehicles
that can establish field communications with local and federal responders
while in a hazardous environment. A network of satellite communications,
encrypted phones and handheld radiofrequency gear will link the
vehicle to the outside world.
Nichols warned that research, development and testing funds for
these mobile command centers will drop to zero after 2006. She also
cited figures showing that the $54 million allocated in 2006 for
the vehicles is eliminated by 2008.
“It scares people,” she told the audience of a recent
defense industry conference. “There’s a lot of zeros.”
Aside from the long-term support of the command vehicles, the Civil
Support teams are getting adequate support, Nichols said.
The office will be spending $4 million to $5 million a year to
upgrade the equipment, she said. Priority items include individual
protection gear that can filter out all agents, mobile analysis
tools and new gear that would allow suited teams to work in “hot
zones” for long periods.