Reps. Fossella & King: Major Hurdle Cleared in Bringing Elite Anti-Terror Team to Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn

Press Release

Reps. Fossella & King: Major Hurdle Cleared in Bringing Elite Anti-Terror Team to Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn

Congressman Vito Fossella and Congressman Peter King today announced that a major hurdle has been cleared in establishing an elite terror response team at Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn.

The House of Representatives approved $3.8 million for the operation of the unit.Without the funding, the federal government might be forced to abandon plans to establish New York City's first and only "Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team" (CST). The funding, which was included in the Fiscal Year 2008 Defense Department Appropriations bill that passed the House this past weekend, would allow the unit to continue organizing and help pay for training, equipment maintenance and salaries of Army and Air National Guard personnel who comprise the CST.

Fossella said, "This victory brings us one step closer to making New York safer from acts of terrorism. A CST at Fort Hamilton would give New York City's first responders a valuable resource to draw upon in the event of a terrorist attack. While we have not been attacked since 9-11, New York City must be prepared for every possible scenario. A CST would ensure that our first responders have the manpower, resources and training they need to respond to a terrorist attack involving weapons of mass destruction. I want to thank Congressmen King and John McHugh, as well as General Taluto and Governors Pataki and Spitzer, for their efforts to bring a CST to Fort Hamilton."

King said, "I am proud to have worked closely with General Taluto, Governor Spitzer, and my Congressional colleagues to secure authorization and funding to stand up a second Civil Support Team (CST) for Weapons of Mass Destruction in the state. Because New York is such a target by would-be terrorists, it is vital for it to have an additional CST located downstate."

The highly-specialized CST is an elite terror response team made up of Army and Air National Guard personnel and brings unique capabilities to local first responders across the state. The highly-trained, 22-member team deploys rapidly to assist emergency management personnel in determining the nature of an incident of known or suspected chemical, biological or radiological agents.

The CST members search out possible chemical, biological or radiological contaminants, sample and analyze them to identify potential toxic substances with a state of the art mobile analytical laboratory. It also provides medical and technical advice, and facilitates the identification and arrival of follow-on state and federal response assets. The unit's mobile Unified Command Suite provides secure worldwide voice, video and data access to military and federal networks and a skill-bank of technical experts at places like the Pentagon and The Centers for Disease Control.

In May, Fossella and King cleared a critical hurdle by securing the commitment to site the CST at Fort Hamilton. Prior to that, the lawmakers worked with the New York State Congressional delegation to include $4.8 million in the Fiscal Year 2007 Defense Department Appropriations bill to start-up the unit. They also secured the agreement to transfer an additional $3 million for the CST. At present, a Captain and a First Sergeant have been assigned to the unit as a first step in its formation.

Fossella and King said the remaining hurdles include passing legislative language this year to increase the number of authorized CSTs nationwide from 55 to 57, which cleared the House in May, and ensuring the additional funding for FY 2008 is passed by the Senate.

New York currently has one CST, which is located at Stratton Air National Guard Base in Scotia, NY. The Fort Hamilton CST would be the first of its kind located in New York City. The Scotia-based CST has been deployed more than 60 times since its certification in 2001. However, due to their specific expertise, training and capabilities, CST's were not designed to maintain the vigorous operational tempo currently being met by the existing CST.

Source