Guard’s civil support team preps for exercise with water survival training

Missouri National Guard Sgt. Hugh Mills floats in a level-A hazardous material suit under the watch of Capt. Nathan Looper during water survival training for the 7th Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team at Bull Shoals Lake.

By Matthew J. Wilson
ngmo.pao@us.army.mil

SUNDOWN, Mo. - In preparation for an on-the-water exercise, the Missouri National Guard's 7th Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team engaged in a day of water survival training recently at Bull Shoals Lake.

Each member of the team put on a level-A hazardous material suit and other appropriate safety equipment. Two at a time, team members walked into about 8 feet of Bull Shoals water where they had to prove they could float and maneuver themselves in the event that they fell in during a real-world event.

"That was a chance for the entire team to build confidence in the equipment just in case they are put in that situation," said Capt. Nathan Looper, the team's medical operation's officer, who acted as one of two safeties during the training. "We are all certified hazardous material technicians, so we can all be called upon to wear the suits into a dangerous area."

The team's mission is to assess suspected or known terrorist threats, advise civilian authorities of appropriate responses, and assist local emergency responders with follow-on forces in incidents involving chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high-yield explosive weapons of mass destruction.

Made up of both Army and Air National Guardsmen, the 22-person active Guard unit must be capable of sending out an advance party team within 90 minutes at all times to investigate potential threats that can range from mass sickness to mysterious white powders to unidentified contaminations.

Because of the numerous waterways in the state, the possibility of the team being called on to respond to a waterborne event is significant enough to train for.

"There are a lot of opportunities in the state of Missouri for us to have water operations," said Looper, who lives in Waynesville.

The suits and safety equipment consist of about 100 pounds of weight that does not include any type of flotation system. What allows Guardsmen to float is that the suits fill with air and does not leak.

"It's like putting a balloon with a little air into the water," said Master Sgt. Anthony Gordes, the team's communications information systems noncommissioned officer.

The team's reconnaissance section consists of the eight Guardsmen most likely to wear the suits during a real-world event. Most of the section members have performed water survival training one day a week in the Davidson Fitness Center pool at Fort Leonard Wood for the last several months. So for them, the training was a good refresher.

"This gives people confidence that if they fall in, they're not going to sink to the bottom," said Staff Sgt. Brian Harvey, one of two reconnaissance section team chiefs. "You basically just float in the water and then you get more comfortable trying to move yourself around in the water."

Once in the water, Harvey said Guardsmen should remain calm and wait for help.

"Or, if you're close enough, you can just paddle and get yourself back to shore," said Harvey, who lives in Jefferson City.

Gordes, who has been on the team more than two years, is no stranger to getting into the suits despite it not being his main mission as part of the communications section. But he doesn't often get the chance to be in water while wearing the suit.

"It reinforced that the suits do work and they do float," said Gordes, who lives in Salem. "It's just like going through Nuclear, Biological and Chemical training - you put on your protective mask and go through a gas chamber to reinforce the confidence that the mask will work."

Although Sgt. 1st Class Jeff Felton, the team's new operations noncommissioned officer in charge, recently completed the Civil Skills Support Course, the basic schooling to earn a hazardous material technician certification, the training was a bit intimidating since the course doesn't cover waterborne operations.

"I was a little nervous at first, but watching other people built up my confidence a little," said Felton, who lives in Jefferson City. "Getting in there was a different experience, just laying there and being self buoyant. But it was a really good time."

Felton said the biggest challenge is accepting that the suit will not fill with water.

"Even if the suit fills with water, you're still going to float with the oxygen tank on," Felton said. "But if the suit filled with water and your mask doesn't stay sealed, then you're obviously going to be in a little bit of trouble."

It was also the first time Felton was in a real-world suit, as opposed to a training suit.

"The actual suits are a lot thicker and a lot different than a training suit, so putting the suit on was a new experience for me," he said.

Missouri National Guard Master Sgts. David Adams and Anthony Gordes test the buoyancy of their level-A hazardous material suits while being monitored by Capt. Nathan Looper, left, and Lt. Col. Raymond White, who acted as safeties during water survival training for the 7th Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team at Bull Shoals Lake.

Missouri National Guard Capt. Joseph Schmitz and Sgt. 1st Class Jason Allabaugh test the buoyancy of their level-A hazardous material suits while being monitored by Lt. Col. Raymond White, right, and Capt. Nathan Looper, who acted as safeties during water survival training for the 7th Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team at Bull Shoals Lake.