ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. -- Military leaders from the South Dakota National Guard and Ellsworth conducted a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new 82nd Civil Support Team's (Weapons of Mass Destruction) new Ready Building here, Oct. 29; the building is the first National Guard unit established at Ellsworth.
The 82 CST is one of 55 teams across the U.S. trained to detect chemical, nuclear and biological threats. Their locations are designed to accommodate the Incident Command System while providing a crucial link between initial local response and federal assets.
The 82 CST's main mission in these locations is to strengthen local and regional terrorism response capabilities in events known or suspected to involve weapons of mass destruction. These include nerve, blister and radiological agents, as well as anthrax.
"The new facility here is meant to aide in these capabilities," said Maj. Gen. Steven Doohen, South Dakota National Guard adjutant general. "The new building is an improvement from the old location at Camp Rapid not only because it holds all the team's [82 CST] equipment, but also because of the quick access to Ellsworth's runway."
The new facility also allows for more vehicle storage bays, administrative offices, classrooms and unit storage areas for the 22 members of South Dakota National Guard's 82 CST, General Doohen said.
The training ability of the 82 CST will also improve due to a more centralized location, said Senior Master Sgt. Don Zwart, 82 CST first sergeant.
"At Camp Rapid we were housed in three different facilities and here [Ellsworth] we have only one facility, which will make a difference," Sergeant Zwart said. "We can now all train directly with each other everyday and plan future operations, such as field training exercises to prepare us for future missions."
The actual ribbon-cutting for the facility was preceded with speeches by General Doohen, Al Dial, Box Elder mayor, and Col. Scott Vander Hamm, 28th Bomb Wing commander, who highlighted the importance of establishing the first National Guard unit at Ellsworth.
"The real word we want to emphasize here is 'team,' we train and fight at home like we do downrage," Colonel Vander Hamm said. "We are in a joint fight and there is no better place to start those relationships than at home."
The construction of the $2 million facility began in May 2007 and reached significant completion in August 2008. It marks not only the first National Guard unit established at Ellsworth, it also establishes direct joint activity between Ellsworth and it's counterparts to ensure success in these [tough] times, Colonel Vander Hamm said.
USAF. (U.S. Air Force Graphic by Rosario "Charo" Gutierrez)