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In the hot zone: nation has few WMD response teams in place.(Chem-Bio Defense)
- Article from:
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National Defense
- Article date:
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June 1, 2008
- Author:
- Magnuson, Stew
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Copyright informationCOPYRIGHT 2008 National Defense Industrial Association. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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GALLAGHER, W. Va. -- The training scenario the Marines encountered on a crisp spring morning was this: Terrorists traveling in a van through a highway tunnel sprayed nerve gas into the air. Motorists behind them, suffering from the effects, lost control of their vehicles and created two large pileups.
The chemical biological incident response force (CBIRF), a unit of more than 400 Marines and Navy personnel, had the task of rescuing the victims in a contaminated area, or hot zone, where the exact nature of the threat was still unknown.
The training exercise, held in an abandoned tunnel in the Allegheny Mountains, is one of many the unit carries out each year to prepare ...