Radiation: Reservists fill unique role in emergency preparedness

By Patricia Chavez
DTRA Public Affairs, Kirtland AFB, NM
Published in Citizen Airman / August 2011
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The mere mention of the word "radiation" invokes an almost universal feeling of fear and paranoia in people throughout the world. The recent Fukushima, Japan, nuclear power plant radiation spill should remind everyone that the threat of radiation contamination is real.

The severity of the Fukushima accident has been compared to the devastating 1986 Chernobyl meltdown (the world's worst nuclear accident) in which thousands suffered from the radiation release. Thirty-one people died as a direct result. Thousands were relocated and approximately 5,000 suffered from serious health issues, including young children who absorbed radioactive iodine into their thyroid gland.

Radiation fear is a vital aspect of the radiological training provided by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency reserve component. Reservists are doing more than just serving in war zones these days to combat terrorism. These reservists are actively educating both Department of Defense and civilian first responders on how to prepare for any terrorist radiological incident.

"The reserve component instructs responders on how to respond to the threat of a radiological or nuclear incident," said Air Force Lt. Col. Lisa Day, DTRA reserve component deputy chief. "We ensure that first responders understand what radiation is, and we correct many of the misconceptions about radiation."

DTRA's reservists have been on an important grass-roots movement establishing themselves as a unique training resource for the DOD, federal, local and state first responders. The RC is made up of multi-service reservists, providing training on response and support to civil authorities to mitigate consequences of a weapons of mass destruction attack. First responders are typically firefighters, police officers and emergency management technicians.

"This training is crucial to those who are on the front lines of responding to an incident, radiological or otherwise," said Air Force Capt. Thomas Poupakis, the RC's officer in charge. "The DOD and other federal, state and local agencies are taking the threat of terrorism seriously and are being proactive in preparing agency members and local responders on incident response and awareness of the effects of exposure to radiation."

A terrorist attack using nuclear or biological weapons can likely be expected before 2013, according to a report issued by the Commission on the Prevention of WMD Proliferation and Terrorism (January 2009). The commission was established to address the grave threat that proliferation of weapons of mass destruction poses to the United States, and the director of national intelligence publicly agreed with the report's threat assessment.

Because of this threat, former Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates empowered the National Guard and Reserves when he merged active-duty military and reserve components into an "integrated total force." This validated the reserves' homeland defense role by mandating "that the National Guard and Reserves have a lead role and form the backbone of DOD operations in the homeland," as written in the Nov. 26, 2008, memorandum from Secretary Gates.

This memorandum stemmed from recommendations made by the Commission on the National Guard and Reserves established by the Ronald Reagan National Defense Authorization Act, which was tasked to assess roles, mission and funding of the National Guard and Reserve components.

DOD continues to address threats posed by proliferation of WMD material, weapons and technology that is a direct physical threat to the United States and other nations as delineated in the 2010 U.S. Quadrennial Defense Review. The QDR is a legislatively mandated review of DOD strategy and sets out the priorities of the reserve component.

The recommendations from the QDR and the Commission on the National Guard and Reserves report led Secretary Gates to issue his memorandum, which gave the reserve components a lead role in homeland response.

"U.S. defense leaders consider the threat of terrorism a very real risk and have made it more urgent.," Colonel Day said. "We can't rest on our laurels and be complacent because we haven't had a major attack. We have to be prepared to respond."

The RC is based at the Defense Threat Reduction University (DTRU) located at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M. The RC has a great working relationship with the DTRU. They provide training in-residence on a monthly basis. They assist with some of the DTRU courses and are able to use DTRU resources, including classrooms and live radiation training sites. These training sites give a realistic environment and simulation for students to apply class instruction in the actions required of a radiological emergency team member. Students receive hands-on instruction and experience in the use of radioactivity monitoring instruments.

Additionally, the RC takes its mobile training teams on the road, training all over the nation.

"The best part of the mobile training is that it is virtually free," Captain Poupakis said. "The only cost is travel for the highly experienced reserve and guard subject matter experts that provide the training. We're saving our customers thousands of dollars and providing invaluable training."

The RC has received excellent feedback on its training.

"All guardsmen should have this training requirement," said Col. Mark Coers, U.S. Joint Forces vice chief of staff. "It was the best training I have had in 19 years," said Lt. Col. George Como, after attending the course.

The component's reservists have a vast array of knowledge, ranging from nuclear engineers to health physicists to law enforcement experts. Some have 30-plus years in emergency planning and response, and nuclear science.

U.S. Navy Lt. j.g. Carlos Argueta is a police officer with more than 23 years experience in law enforcement ranging from emergency management to high profile critical incidents. He has served on the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force and Violent Crimes Task Force. He is on active-duty orders with the RC using his experience with the Albuquerque Police Department as a critical link to the local community.

"The work we do is incredible," Lieutenant Argueta said. "The operation is very proactive, and we reach out to the community on various levels. The education piece is important to the community at large. The responders live in the community that they protect, and the training trickles down to the rest of the community."

The Introduction to Radiological and Nuclear Incident Response training is one of the first courses to receive American Council on Education accreditation at the Defense Nuclear Weapons School. ACE accreditation gives higher education organizations the ability to give college credit and requires the course to meet its extensive requirements.

In addition to the accreditation, the RC has met other significant milestones, including acquiring 35 Air Force billets, two Army billets as well as Navy augmentees on an as-funded basis to assist in their mission. They have trained more than 800 first responders and national guard members, including 16 mobile training courses nationwide.

"We've come a long way from the 15-person shop with the initial idea that the RC would augment the DTRU during weekday classes," Colonel Day said. "It is a very exciting time for us. We still have a lot of work to do, and we're working hard for the way ahead. We are currently working with federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, to train all potential responders to a WMD incident and bridge the gap between military and civilian first responders."

The goal of the IRNIR course is to leverage the unique skills and experience of the RC staff to increase first/second responder, incident commander, Civil Support Team, National Guard, military and civilian expertise in CBRNE response to mitigate the consequences of WMD attacks.

"The focus is on providing command, control and coordination -- expertise and life-saving measures," Captain Poupakis said.