LV may get new Guard team

Suzanne Struglinski

Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2003 | 11:01 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Las Vegas could be home to one of 12 new National Guard teams specially trained to handle weapons of mass destruction, if the Defense Department goes along with a request by Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev.

The Defense Department has put National Guard Civil Support Teams in 32 states so far, but not in Nevada. Congress allocated $88.2 million for personnel, equipment and operating costs of 12 new teams in the defense budget approved last week.

Gibbons has called Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Security Paul McHale to ask that one of those 12 be placed in Nevada and to justify the need for a team, a spokeswoman said. The congressman plans to follow up with a letter as well.

The teams are designed to provide rapid response to suspected or actual terrorist attacks that use weapons of mass destruction. They would help local authorities respond to the event, assess the damage and help determine what happens next.

The teams are made up of 22 full-time National Guard members who have been specially trained to identify chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or explosive incidents. Team members get 600 hours of training above their regular military skills.

"With 18 of the world's largest hotels located on the Las Vegas Strip, a huge influx of tourists entering Nevada everyday and one of the fastest-growing populations in the nation, Nevada has the responsibility to protect millions of American 24 hours a day," Gibbons said. "Las Vegas specifically is a highly visible symbol of American society and warrants the same counterterrorism and attack response efforts as other major cities, like New York, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C."

Congress authorized the first 10 teams in 1999. They are not meant to duplicate or overshadow state efforts at combating weapons of mass destruction, but to supplement them.

Gibbons also has introduced a bill that would require the department to put the rapid response teams in place to make sure all states are better prepared to respond to an attack.

Meanwhile, the Southern Nevada Public Health Laboratory, which would also swing into action in the event of a biological attack, will not open this month as anticipated due to delays in the building's renovation.

After realizing the nearest lab to analyze biological or other suspicious substances was in Reno, the Clark County Health District and the University of Nevada School of Medicine agree to run a public lab in the southern part of the state. It was paid for with a $2 million federal bioterrorism grant for the renovations and equipment and is set to get an additional $1 million next year.

Pat Armour, the lab manager, said equipment is ready and in storage and she is working on hiring staff as well as getting the transition ready for some of the health department's clinical lab employees who could be moving to the new facility.

Armour could not say when the lab would be finished. She is waiting on documents from the architect working on the renovations.