Civil Support Teams sharpen skills during BAYEX '21

Video by Staff Sgt. Kimberly S. Hill
Story and Photos by Sgt. 1^st Class Amanda H. Johnson
California National Guard Public Affairs

February 4, 2021

SAN FRANCISCO – The sun reflected across a glassy San Francisco Bay, broken only by the wake of a ferry boat.

Two San Francisco Police Department patrol boats sped up to the ferry, loading personnel onboard as it continued its journey to a destination port.

It looked like a scene from a movie, however this exercise was not for entertainment. It was real-world training to mimic a worst-case-scenario.

“Civil Support Teams were created in the mid-1990s to provide very rapid military chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear response capability,” said U.S. Army Col. Daniel Markert, the civil support task force commander of the 9^th and 95^th Civil Support Teams, both part of the California National Guard. “An exercise like this and what’s going on today are really important to get everyone familiar ahead of time before an incident.”

The exercise on the ferry simulated an unknown chemical attack on public transportation in a maritime environment.

Service members aboard the SFPD patrol boats were members of civil support teams from a collection of states including California, Nevada, Idaho, and Oregon.

Team members quickly donned hazardous material suits and oxygen tanks as the ferry swayed back and forth.

Once inside the main compartment of the ferry, they searched every inch for potential threats and chemical agents.

“We are hosting an exercise called BAYEX,” said U.S. Army Sgt. Adan Rosillo, a CBRN specialist assigned to California National Guard's Hayward-based 95^th CST. With partnered agencies like Contra Costa hazardous material teams, the FBI, and other CSTs, they all learn different perspectives and methods of tackling hazmat situations.

Soldiers and civilians huddle together to discuss strategy.

California National Guard 95^th Civil Support Team, in partnership with federal, state, and local agencies strategize an approach to investigate hazardous materials located on a Bay Area Rapid Transit train in Antioch, California, Feb. 2, 2021. CSTs collaborate with Contra Costa Fire Department, local emergency management teams, and federal partners to address domestic CBRN threats. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. 1^st Class Amanda H. Johnson)

Soldiers in hazardous material suits and oxygen tanks step into a train.

National Guard Civil Support Teams load onto a Bay Area Rapid Transit train to investigate reported unknown domestic threats in Antioch, California, Feb. 2, 2021. California National Guard Civil Support Teams, in partnership with federal, state, and local agencies conducted a two-day exercise conducting real-world operations for domestic threat training scenarios. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. 1^st Class Amanda H. Johnson)

California National Guard 95^th Civil Support Team, in partnership with federal, state, and local agencies strategize an approach to investigate hazardous materials located on a Bay Area Rapid Transit train in Antioch, California, Feb. 2, 2021. CSTs collaborate with Contra Costa Fire Department, local emergency management teams, and federal partners to address domestic CBRN threats. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. 1^st Class Amanda H. Johnson)

A servicemember in a hazardous material suit and oxygen respirator inspects a black backpack for hazardous materials.

A National Guard Civil Support Team member inspects a backpack for hazardous materials on a Bay Area Rapid Transit train to investigate reported unknown domestic chemical threats in Antioch, California, Feb. 2, 2021. California National Guard Civil Support Teams, in partnership with federal, state, and local agencies conducted a two-day exercise conducting real-world operations for domestic threat training scenarios. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. 1^st Class Amanda H. Johnson)

Hazmat clad servicemembers toss buckets of water over a fellow servicemember to decontaminate the suit from hazardous chemicals.

National Guard Civil Support Team members toss buckets of water over a fellow team member to decontaminate the suit that was potentially exposed to hazardous chemicals while aboard a ferry in the San Francisco Bay, California, Feb. 4, 2021. California National Guard Civil Support Teams, in partnership with federal, state, and local agencies conducted a two-day exercise conducting real-world operations for domestic threat training scenarios. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. 1^st Class Amanda H. Johnson)

Medical servicemembers treat a fellow colleague during a drill for the exercise.

Members of the California National Guard's 95th Civil Support Team medical personnel care for a colleague during an exercise scenario known as 'man down.' The medical staff of the CST evaluate, treat, and ensure the best care is provided in line with evaluation standards for Operation: BAYEX 21. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. 1st Class Amanda H. Johnson)

Hazmat suit clad servicemembers wash one another down in order to decontaminate themselves from a hazardous environment.

California National Guard's 95th Civil Support Team members wash down fellow team members as a decontamination measure during Operation: BAYEX 21 in the San Francisco Bay, Feb. 4, 2021. CNG CSTs, in partnership with federal, state, and local agencies conducted a two-day exercise conducting real-world operations for domestic threat training scenarios. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. 1^st Class Amanda H. Johnson)

“It’s important to do training exercises like this so if we are actually called up for a hazmat incident, weapons of mass destruction incident, we already have working relationships with local agencies,” Rosillo said.

The event, known as Operation: BAYEX 21, is a full-scale exercise conducted over two days in the Bay Area to practice coordination, response, and mitigation of CBRN materials in and around mass transit platforms.

The joint agencies participated in hazardous material detection and domestic threat events in multiple locations ranging from aboard a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) train to a ferry.

“An exercise like this is pretty important, because it’s bringing together both federal, state, local, first responders, and military coming in with their expertise,” Markert said. The nationwide CST program is mutually supportive to one another. “If there’s a big incident, support from other states can occur.”

CSTs are versatile assets, not limited to CBRN events. Counties, states, and federal agencies can request their support for any type of event.

An example of this was in November 2018, when the Camp Fire burned through the town of Paradise and several other communities in Butte County. The blaze claimed 85 lives and more than 90% of the buildings and homes in Paradise.

California CSTs were called in to assist with defeating an underground fire in a mine that was part of the Camp Fire footprint. Due to confined spaces and toxic fumes, the CST was uniquely qualified to support the fight, Markert described.

“It’s super cool, I love it,” said U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Alma Gutierrez, an emergency manager assigned to the 95^th CST. They not only conducted hazardous material site exploitation, but they also practiced medical and decontamination procedures.

“I feel like a sponge trying to absorb everything that is going on,” she said.

Gutierrez, normally responsible for teaching CBRN courses, reversed back to the role of student as a new member of the CST. She's been with the team for three weeks and her new job required she apply her knowledge. “It’s driving it home, seeing it in action,” she said.

More than a dozen federal and state agencies completed all required tasks together spanning across four different locations in the bay area, within the two-day operation. Rosillo captured the teamwork it took to achieve the mission perfectly when he said, “working with different agencies is like working with family.”