ELECTED AND POLICY LEADERS NEED TRAINING IN CBRNE RESPONCE -Essay

 

 

 

ELECTED AND POLICY LEADERS

NEED TRAINING IN CBRNE RESPONCE

 

 

 

 

 

Richard G. Hildreth

AMU Student # 4089144

HLSS 212 Chemical, Biological, and Radiological Hazards

Professor Bruce Knee – Instructor

December 21, 2012

 

One of the recommendations contained in the 9-11 Commission report is to identify, develop, test, and deliver training to state, local, and tribal emergency response providers. Although policy is not specifically identified as a typical responder discipline, it is important for local government officials such as Mayors, City Managers and Council Members to at least gain an awareness level training in emergency management and CBRNE threats. Even with the absence of an actual attack, the training of local government elected officials benefits our national and regional capacity by helping them recognize gaps in their own performance and their jurisdictions.

There are few greater tests of policy leadership than facing a disaster or CBRNE event.  Although not typically thought of as a performance standard for elected officials; an understanding of the CBRNE threat, the challenges it creates and what responders face in response can prove valuable during a response or in the development of emergency plans. Policy leaders who gain awareness training are better prepared to recognize the challenges responders face in CBRNE events.

There are a number of DHS funded training programs available through the National Domestic Preparedness Consortium ¹. These programs include awareness and performance level training on Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosive events and in Weapons of Mass Destruction.  In addition to gaining an awareness of the threat and what is needed for response, governmental officials can also gain insight by participating in hands on training offered at the Center for Domestic Preparedness and The Energetic Materials Research and Testing Center (EMRTC) located at New Mexico Tech (NMT). Hands on training allow policy leaders to experience the environment that responders operate in and the challenges created working inside of Personal Protective Equipment. In the Chemical Ordinance Biological RAdiological  Training Facility (COBRAtf) located at the Center for Domestic Preparedness ², participants dress out in Level B and Level C personal protective equipment ³ and practice testing and operating inside of an actual toxic environment. This training allows participants to understand why certain types of equipment, gear and supplies might be needed and why specific processes are followed.

A typical program at the Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP) ⁴ that an elected official could benefit from would be (MGT 360) Incident Command: Capabilities, Planning and Response Actions for All Hazards combined with (PER 262 HOT) Hands-On Training for CBRNE Incidents ⁵. In this program participants would spend the first 3 days (of 5 days total) in a classroom setting discussing incident command, incident management, threat analysis, assessment and WMD planning and response.  This instruction would be a combination of lecture, group discussion and exercise culminating with participants playing positions similar to their real life roles in a functional exercise.  The fourth day would be dedicated to learning about their Personal Protective Equipment, use of testing equipment, rapid triage, evacuation and decontamination of victims, as well as the most critical item, Safety.

On the fifth day participants are bussed to the live agent facility (COBRAtf) in the hills above Anniston Alabama. This facility was home to the US Army’s Chemical Corps School before Fort McClellan was closed; it is now the only facility in the nation that nonmilitary responders can work and train with live nerve agents.  Just to get to the administration building you pass through two armed security gates and are under constant surveillance. Upon entering the administration building you head for one of the two classrooms where you receive a final briefing, medical checks and a fit test for your gas mask. 

For the first portion of the day’s training participants suit up in Level B PPE’s (Personal Protective Equipment) and are taken to an outdoors training area known as Northville.  At Northville, participants play responders to a CBRNE and are tasked with the evacuation of victims from just outside of a simulated Hot zone (3 zones are established around an event, the Hot zone which is the most contaminated, a transition or warm zone and an uncontaminated area or cold zone) through Gross Decontamination ⁶ and handed off to a team in the cold zone.   In the cold zone victims are further decontaminated (known as Specific Decontamination) and passed off to medical staff.  As many CBRNE events may also be a criminal or terrorist event in gross decontamination, all clothing is cut from the victim (for this training we use dummies), safely double bagged, tagged with a tracking number and transported with the victim as possible evidence.  This portion of the training requires all participants to rapidly apply skills learned and work in teams in a highly stressful environment.  

Following Northville, participants change out of the level B and into what some people affectionately call Marshmallow suits.  These are a charcoal lined chemical suits participant shall wear inside the toxic facility.  The instructors again warn participants that once inside the protective airlocks of the facility we will no longer be operating in a simulated environment.  We will be working with live nerve agents and using test equipment to identify the agents (GB and VX). Although medical counter measure agents are on hand, any leak in the suit or failure to follow instructions may result in lethal exposure.  Prior to entry into the inner core of the training facility each participant performs a series of exercises that simulate movements we might encounter while inside while exposed to Banana Oil Concentrate. If there were any leaks or failures in the suit or mask participants would know immediately.  After everyone passes this final test, participants pass through the final airlock door and into the core of the Live Agent Facility.  Here participants are separated into two man teams, secure test equipment and are led into smaller rooms which simulate a crime scene responders might experience during a CBW event. 

Upon entering the first room, participants notice what appear to be the remnants of a makeshift laboratory.  Participants line up around the room and the instructor signals to the operations command that you are ready for live agent.  Two individuals wearing PPE’s enter the room carrying a small box containing live agent.  Small amounts are placed on chilled plates.  Working in our teams, each participant employs the test equipment and the agent is identified as GB nerve agent (Sarin). With the limitations of movement and visibility caused by the chemical suits participants quickly learn that it’s not always an easy task to operate in this environment. Before leaving, the live agent is “Killed” by applying a bleach solution to the agent.  Each participant then washes off with the bleach solution and is checked for possible exposure (pin pointing of the eyes) before proceeding to the next room.

The next room is a simulated CBW crime scene.  Again, after lining up around the room, the two individuals enter, this time with VX Nerve Agent.  Participants then use various testing equipment and again experience how the equipment is used to verify the type of agent involved.  As was done in the first room, before leaving, the agent is “Killed” and all participants quickly decontaminate and are checked for exposure.  Participants are now ready for the final room, a simulation of a terrorist mass casualty event in a realistic urban landscape.

In all of the training participants so far, participants had not been exposed to an environment filled with flashing lights, sirens and other realistic distractions.  In this room they need to quickly assess the situation, report back to the incident commander and then when instructed, evacuate the room using appropriate triage.  The room is filled with pipe bombs, sirens, flashing lights and victims injuries ranging from severe lacerations to explosive amputation. Also included in this room are fatalities, some in responder uniforms. This room realistically simulates the stressful environment that responders may be asked to operate in.

The ritual and step by step process used to decontaminate and doff (take off) protective gear is just as critical as those to don (put on gear) and operate in contaminated environments.  Like everything else involved with this facility, there is a set ritual that must be followed to the letter.  Working in teams, participants help each other wash off any potential residue on their masks and gloves. They then pass through an airlock door into the doffing room.  Here they help their partner untie, unzip and prepare there suit for removal all while not potentially contaminating themselves or their partner.  Participants carefully remove the marshmallow coats and suits leaving mask and gloves in place.  Stepping into the next decon area they remove their gloves and socks and are separated (men in one room and women in the other) to doff their shorts; leaving participants wearing only a tee shirt and mask.  Using the tee shirt to prevent any contamination, participants then remove their shirt and mask in one motion and are directed to proceed to a two-step shower process. In the first shower, ice cold water is used to quickly close pores and rinse off any possible contamination. The second shower is warmer and participants finish their decontamination and get redressed in street clothes.

This Live Agent and other training is valuable for all responders including elected leaders.  It allows them to visualize what responders might face during a real event and see first-hand the limitations PPE’s create.  It allows participants to recognize the importance of ritual that is used throughout the entire CBW response. It provides a whole new perspective that policy leaders can then use at home when considering response needs and planning. But this is just a small example of training that is available to educate elected officials about the CBRNE threat.

Louisiana State University’s National Center for Biomedical Research and Training (NCBRT) ⁷ maintains both online and field delivered programs to State and Local jurisdictions for the education of both responders and elected officials.  Through a cooperative partnership with the DHS and the NDPC, these programs are free of charge to the local jurisdiction and are focused in areas ranging from Bio Terrorism events to contamination of food and agricultural assets. Like other training that is available, policy leaders can gain knowledge and insight into CBRNE events that allow them to speak more authoritively, recognize needs and threats as well as respond appropriately if and when an actual event occurs.

At the National Emergency Response and Rescue Training Center (NERRTC), Texas A&M’s Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) has developed and delivers training in all aspects of emergency response and includes CBRNE in some of its programs.  The Enhanced All Hazards Incident Management/Unified Command course, affectionately called by its participants as “ICS 300 on steroids” allows all participants to apply their knowledge and skills to large scale and expanding disaster simulations. In this program, participants rotate between the functional areas of Command, Operations, Finance / Admin, Planning and Logistics. As part of these exercises, local natural disasters are compounded by both accidental and purposeful chemical incidents.  An advantage of this training is that policy leaders gain the ability to participate in other functional areas and gain some perspective from other disciplines.  TEEX also maintains a large number of online and field delivered programs including the field delivered Crisis Leadership & Decision Making for Elected Officials ⁸.  This program is specifically designed for elected leaders to explore their own crisis leadership needs and examine the disaster response process from the leadership perspective.

The Center for Homeland Defense and Security (CHDS) ⁹ located at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) in Monterey California is a partnership between the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of the Navy. Since 2003, CHDS Mobile Education Teams (MET) have provided Executive Education Seminars to local government leaders on building capacity to prevent, deter and respond to domestic terrorist attacks.  These intensive ½ day seminars concentrate on the problems that Homeland Security poses for state and local level strategic planning, policy development, and organizational design. The target audience of these seminars is typically the Governor and their Senior Staff; however they are also available for Homeland Security leaders of major urban cities.

Responding to the need for Homeland Security leadership, CHDS has also developed the Master’s and Executive Leaders program. The Master’s Degree program is an intense 18 month program that includes six - two week in residence classes.  The Executive Leaders Program is a nine month program that includes four – one week in residence classes.  Both programs are open to elected and policy leaders and are fully funded by the Department of Homeland Security; however due to the high cost involved, class size is limited, are highly competitive and are difficult to gain acceptance into.

With the myriad of issues that elected and policy leaders face on an everyday basis it is easy to understand why emergency management / homeland security issues are put on a back burner.  Training in emergency management and homeland security requires the dedication of a vast amount of time and is often not possible for many elected officials.  However those leaders that do take that time are typically better prepared when a disaster strikes and are in a better position to provide the leadership needed in their communities.  As they also recognize the many complexities and challenges created by CBRNE events they are in a better position to appraise the capabilities of their communities and work to close the gaps discovered. By closing these gaps they are in fact helping improve the capacity to respond and recover and improving the overall preparedness of our nation.

 

NOTES;

1.      Department of Homeland Security. Information on Training Programs available
under NDPC. The National Domestic Preparedness Consortium.
http://www.ndpc.us/index.html.

 

2.      CDP - Public Affairs Department. "Toxic Agent Offers Real-World Response Skills
Training." The Center for Domestic Preparedness /COBRA training Facility.
http://cdp.dhs.gov/pdfs/news/features/COBRA.pdf.

 

3.      US Department of Labor. "General description and discussion of the levels of
protection and protective gear." Occupational Safety and Health Standards -
Hazardous Materials. http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.showdocument?ptable=STANDARDS&p_id=9767

 

4.      "Training by Program Letter." Center for Domestic
Preparedness. Accessed December 2, 2012. https://cdp.dhs.gov/schedules/
program_list.html.

 

5.      U.S. Department of Homeland Security - Center for Domestic Preparedness.
Incident Command: Capabilities Planning and Response Actions (WMD) and
All-Hazards. Student Manual - MGT-360 ic.11.07.00. Washington D.C: DHS,
2008.

 

 

6.      Arledge, Shannon. Mayor Richard Hildreth at CDP training. Photograph.
http://www.fema.gov/photolibrary/photo_details.do?id=46328.

 

7.      Louisiana State University. Homepage. The National Center for Biomedical
Research and Training. http://www.ncbrt.lsu.edu/.

 

8.      TEEX. "Course Description." MGT340 - Crisis Leadership & Decision Making for
Elected Officials. http://www.teex.org/ teex.cfm?pageid=training&area=teex&Division=USAR&Course=MGT340&templateid=14&navd iv=USAR.

 

9.      Center for Homeland Defense and Security. http://www.chds.us/.