snips:

"Amid the thousands of spectators, delegates and Secret Service, a select group of Wyoming National Guard soldiers and airmen will be present during the Democratic National Convention in Denver from Aug. 25-28. The 22 service members are part of the Wyoming Guard's 84th Civil Support Team. The unit "assesses hazards, advises civil authorities, and facilitates military support during emergencies and incidents of suspected weapons of mass destruction," according to the team's mission statement. The 84th is just one of several civil support teams tasked for the DNC in the event that a weapon of mass destruction is either deployed or threatened. There are a total of 55 such teams throughout the United States and its territories.

"And due to the nature of their work and the frequency with which they must train and recertify, members of the 84th will head to Washington state this weekend for an intensive training on dirty bombs and high-angle rope rescue. "The training venue we're going to is pretty interesting," 1st. Lt. Jonathan Seelye said. "This is a little bit more than a typical radiological exercise." Seelye is the Survey Team Leader for the 84th and said the exercises will involve actual radiological materials."

http://www.wyomingnews.com/articles/2008/06/09/local_news_updates/19local_06-09-08.txt

Wyo. Guard team heading to Denver for convention

The civil-support team will support the Secret Service in the event of a weapon of mass destruction deployment or threat at the Democratic National Convention.

By Brandon Quester
bquester@wyomingnews.com

CHEYENNE -- Amid the thousands of spectators, delegates and Secret Service, a select group of Wyoming National Guard soldiers and airmen will be present during the Democratic National Convention in Denver from Aug. 25-28.

The 22 service members are part of the Wyoming Guard's 84th Civil Support Team.

The unit "assesses hazards, advises civil authorities, and facilitates military support during emergencies and incidents of suspected weapons of mass destruction," according to the team's mission statement.

The 84th is just one of several civil support teams tasked for the DNC in the event that a weapon of mass destruction is either deployed or threatened. There are a total of 55 such teams throughout the United States and its territories.

And due to the nature of their work and the frequency with which they must train and recertify, members of the 84th will head to Washington state this weekend for an intensive training on dirty bombs and high-angle rope rescue.

"The training venue we're going to is pretty interesting," 1st. Lt. Jonathan Seelye said. "This is a little bit more than a typical radiological exercise."

Seelye is the Survey Team Leader for the 84th and said the exercises will involve actual radiological materials.

The facility itself is called the Volpentest HAMMER Training Center and is located on the edge of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington state. The acronym within the title stands for Hazardous Materials Management and Emergency Response.

Seelye said the real-life scenarios conducted on the site will help the team to identify and assess a situation while using actual equipment with real results.

Still, Seelye said his team is a proficient unit and that they have trained for these types of scenarios many times.

"It's just validating what we already know," he said.

The training also helps the 84th to work on their lines of communication between the different divisions of the 22-person team.

But equally important, he said, the team is preparing for its role in supporting the Secret Service for the DNC.

"(The training is) to get ready to be a player at the Democratic National Convention ... in support of the Secret Service," he said. "This is the type of an event that the (Civil Support Team) would be involved in."

Tech. Sgt. James Burghard, the information system analyst/operator who works with the 84th on the Air Guard side, said he agreed with Seelye in that its role with the DNC is an important tasking.

He did say, however, that the team's role deals primarily with support. He said their job is to assist and offer guidance for the people they are tasked to help.