CONTACT: Lt. Col. Robert Bullock, 518-248-2155 (cell) or Lt. Col. Paul Fanning 518-786-4581

FOR RELEASE: Saturday, Nov 20, 2010

ON SITE: Lt. Col. Robert Bullock, 518-248-2155 (cell)

CORTLANDT MANOR, NY (11/19/2010)-- Area residents will notice increased military traffic around the Camp Smith Training Site here and the Rockland County Fire Training Center in Pomona as the New York National Guard conducts a terrorist-response exercise this weekend along with local civilian agencies. Soldiers and Airmen from units across New York will be moving to Camp Smith Friday evening, Nov. 19 in preparation for the training exercise at the Rockland County Fire Training Center on Saturday. Military vehicles will begin moving to the exercise location early Saturday morning. The exercise scenario calls for a New York National Guard Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team to be called to the site of a suspected terrorist attack to determine what kind of weapon was used. The team is trained to detect the use of chemical, biological or radiological weapons. The New York National Guard’s CERFP, an abbreviation for CBRNE (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and High Yield Explosive) Enhanced Response Force Package will then move onto the site to rescue trapped survivors, decontaminate them, and provide initial medical treatment. This force is composed of New York Army and Air National Guard members and members of the New York Guard, a state volunteer defense force which is trained to assist the National Guard. The exercise will also test National Guard command and control procedures, as well as the ability to use Camp Smith as a staging site to respond to disasters or attacks in the Hudson Valley. The exercise will be open to members of the media who should contact Air National Guard Lt. Col. Robert Bullock, the on-site Public Affairs Officer, at 518-248-2155.