File:Federal marshals work with National Guard in Operation Vigilant Sample III (5437221886).jpg

FREDRICK, Md., Feb. 8, 2011 – As day four of Operation Vigilant Sample III gets underway at Fort Detrick, Marietta’s 4th Civil Support Team (CST) offers up its expertise in decontamination procedures to U.S. marshals who kicked off today’s unscripted training scenario by raiding “two homes occupied by a suspected hate group. Discovered by the marshals’ SWAT Team, the group was allegedly processing suspicious substances like anthrax in a homemade lab, and bomb-making materials were also allegedly found,” according to the training scenario.

Pictured here, federal marshals move a “suspect” to a safe area away from one of two homes raided a U.S. Marshal Service SWAT team.

After taking members of the group – played by Marines from the Fredrick Marine Corps Reserve Center – into custody, the marshals decided not to risk possible contamination of anyone besides themselves or their prisoners outside the crime scene. Staff Sgt. Steve Phoenix, the CST’s decontamination section supervisor, coordinated with HAZMAT technicians from Howard County, Md., Fire and Rescue, to set up the “DECON” line that the SWAT team and their prisoners would have to process through to make sure they were contaminate free.

“It may be training, but no one walks away ‘unwashed,’” Phoenix said while watching the marshals. “Even as cold as it is today [about 20 degrees at the time], they need to know what they’ll face when suspected contaminates of any kind may be present.”

After the SWAT team finished “washing,” the “prisoners” went through the process as well – all the while under the watchful eyes of “armed” marshals at each end of the decon line. Once through, they were loaded into a waiting vehicle and moved to a “secure facility.” This process completed the training.