NAVAL WEAPONS STATION EARLE, NJ. –
A four-man team of Joint Task Force Civil Support (JTF-CS) chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) planning specialists assisted with the 73rd United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) operation held Sept. 18 through Oct. 5 in New York City.
“This was an opportunity to be in the background, providing analysis and knowing that our work contributed to the safety of the foreign dignitaries and, of course, our U.S. President,” said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Bryant Venable, JTF-CS CBRN planner.
The JTF-CS members operated from a satellite location at Naval Weapons Station Earle in Colts Neck, New Jersey, from Sept. 22-28 as an integrated team with the Region II Defense Coordinating/Element Operations Center. They provided daily CBRN, medical, and logistics assessments as part of a Joint Planning Augmentation Cell to assist with operations in the event of a catastrophic CBRN incident to UNGA 73.
The task force worked alongside multiple government agencies there to facilitate a successful UNGA where representatives from almost 200 countries gathered to address international issues.
The UNGA, held in New York City, is the country's largest National Special Security Event (NSSE) attended by Heads of State from all over the world.
Working with interagency representatives also provided JTF-CS members the ability to hone strong relationships with the New York City first responders, according to Mike Giles, a medical CBRN planner.
“Side discussions during UNGA facilitated a future training opportunity with our New York City partners,” said Giles. “They’ll learn more about the JTF-CS and DoD relationship during a catastrophic disaster response and how we can best support civil authorities if ever the nation were to call upon us.”