Air and Army National Guard members of Arkansas’s 61st Weapons of Mass Destruction-Civil Support Team sharpened their rapid response skills in a weapons of mass destruction training exercise last week at Kirtland AFB, N.M. As part of a course at the Defense Nuclear Weapons School there, the anti-terrorism exercise required the guardsmen to find, identify, and safely contain a sample of radioactive material hidden in a trailer. DOD has fielded 40 Guard WMD-CSTs, working toward a total of 55 teams authorized by Congress.
The U.S. military is maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Middle East, including fighters and air defense assets, following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities June 22 and subsequent retaliation by the Iranians against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
