For Release: Immediate  Date: May 19, 2004

For additional information contact: Captain Robert N. Carver robert.carver@nc.ngb.army.mil North Carolina National Guard 4105 Reedy Creek Road Raleigh, NC 27607-6410 Phone:(919) 664-6244

RALEIGH - The North Carolina National Guard has chosen Greenville as the headquarters for its 42nd Weapons of Mass Destruction - Civil Support Team.

"Greenville makes sense for a number of reasons," said Maj. Gen. William E. Ingram, Jr., adjutant general of the North Carolina National Guard. "Two of the biggest pluses are that it gives the team access to a major airport and excellent roads, which will be critical when it needs to quickly respond to emergencies around the state."

"This National Guard team increases North Carolina's ability to respond to weapons of mass destruction incidents and further strengthens our preparedness for emergencies," said Bryan Beatty, Secretary of the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety. The department is the state's lead homeland security agency and houses the key emergency response organizations, including the National Guard.

In March, the Department of Defense announced North Carolina would be one of 12 new states to have a full-time team to aid local and state emergency responders in the event a terrorist attack or serious incident. A unit of the North Carolina National Guard, the team will have a staff of 22 full-time Army and Air National Guard soldiers and airmen.

The existing National Guard armory at 1401 North Memorial Drive, adjacent to the Pitt-Greenville Airport, will house the unit. The Guard expects the team to begin operations this August.

Civil Support Teams were established to deploy rapidly to assist a local incident commander in determining the nature and extent of an attack or incident. If terrorists release biological, chemical or radiological agents, the team has the ability to identify the agents and the ready knowledge of what actions to take and what response units can be brought in to assist in dealing with the situation.

The North Carolina National Guard has had a "light" team, the 42nd Civil Support Team, based in Raleigh, for several years. Until now, that team was only authorized one full-time member and 21 traditional soldiers and airmen who drilled once a month and two weeks during the summer. The designation as a "heavy" team meant the Guard could hire the unit's full-time members.

The first teams formed in 1999. As of 2001, 32 full time teams had come online in other states. The 12 teams announced in March were the first of 23 additional full-time teams set for activation around the country. When all of the nation's teams are fielded, every state and territory will have one, with the exception of California, which will have two. New teams have 24 months to become fully operational.