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Sharon Watson
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE      Oct. 30, 2008

No. 08-120

73RD CIVIL SUPPORT TEAM TO TAKE PART IN JOINT TRAINING EXERCISE IN OLATHE NOV. 5

Eighteen members of the Kansas National Guard's 73rd Civil Support Team will take part in a joint training exercise with members of the Olathe Fire Department Hazardous Materials Team on Wednesday, Nov. 5, beginning at approximately 9 a.m.

The weapons of mass destruction exercise will take place at the former Lakeside Hills Golf Course, 2300 Golf Course Road, Olathe. It will revolve around the discovery of an unknown substance which must be safely handled and identified by first responders and the 73rd CST.

Members of the Olathe team and the 73rd CST will respond just as they would in a real event, establishing safety perimeters, setting up communications equipment and portable labs and donning haz-mat gear to collect samples.

The Missouri National Guard's 7th Civil Support team will be observing and controlling the scenario.

"Joint training exercises like these are designed to mimic a real-life scenario," said Maj. Gen. Tod Bunting, Kansas adjutant general. "It's an opportunity to see how our counterparts in the public sector actually do their jobs and they can see how we do ours. It's a chance to 'get in each other's way' in a controlled environment, so that if there is ever a real event, we can do our jobs in a cooperative manner and make sure we do things safely for the public and for our own personnel."

The 73rd CST supports civil authorities at a domestic chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and high yield explosive (CBRNE) incident site by identifying CBRNE agents/substances, assessing current and projected consequences, advising on response measures and assisting with appropriate requests for state support.

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NOTE: Media interested in observing should contact Capt. Mike Hall, Olathe Fire Department (913) 208-7967 or Capt. Kyle Chansler, 73rd CST, (785) 861-4087.


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