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AST Coast Guardsmen train for hazmat response

  • Published
  • By Pascual Flores
  • Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Public Affairs
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. --  Service members from the U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Strike Team donned protective suits, boots and gloves as they prepared to conduct a response to hazardous material training Feb. 28, 2013, here.

The training scenario focused on responding to a call for assistance from the Environmental Protective Agency. Exercise planners simulated the call requesting assistance to assess and inventory unknown chemicals in an abandoned pesticide warehouse. A standard 10-man response team was provided with briefings and equipment as per the units' standard operating procedures to meet the mission requirement.

The AST comprises of Coast Guardsmen from throughout the country and from various career fields such as boatswain's mate, storekeeper, machinist's mate and damage controlman. Despite their differences when responding to requests for assistance with oil spills, hazardous materials or weapons of mass destruction, AST members set their individual job rating aside to become one hazardous-material-response team.

"People who come here to the AST, go through the Responder Development Program to earn the necessary qualifications," said Dean Matthews, AST training coordinator.

AST members first attend a three-week basic hazardous material course at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., before they can become a response member. New arrivals undergo additional training w at their duty station for the next qualification level.

"Once a responder has completed his or her basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, they continue to train here for the response levels," said Matthews, a native of Doylestown, Pa.

There are four levels of responders in the AST: response member, response technician, response supervisor and response officer.

The response member is the newest member to the unit. He or she is minimally qualified and will undergo additional classes and training on base-specific jobs and equipment. The response technician is more technically qualified on calibration instruments, pumps and other essential equipment. He or she could lead a pump team and is knowledgeable on all equipment. The response supervisor assesses the situation based on the information received and ensures teams dress out with the proper protective equipment. He or she also categorizes the chemical hazard and provides recommendations to the response officer. The response officer reports to U.S. Coast Guard Strike Team Command in addition to the EPA and other agencies.

"Part of our job is safety oversight and contractor monitoring," said Matthews, who retired from the Coast Guard Reserve in 2010 with 30 years of service as a Senior Chief Marine Science Technician.

"Responders attend briefings identifying what information is known about the situation, a safety and mission brief, identifying the members of the entry and decontamination teams as well as a functions check of their equipment before going into action."