RICHMOND, Va. –
The Virginia National Guard’s Fort Barfoot-based 34th Civil Support Team was evaluated as trained and mission capable after a Training Proficiency Evaluation March 31 - April 3, 2025, in Lynchburg, Virginia. The evaluation was conducted by U.S. Army North, which supervised the exercise and validated the unit’s level of readiness.
The mission of the 34th CST is to support civil authorities in a domestic chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or high-yield explosive incident, and the evaluated tasks included deploying the team, establishing communications and medical support, conducting survey, technical decontamination and analytical functions as well as conducting interagency coordination.
During the TPE, which is usually conducted about every 18 months, the CST was evaluated during two full-scale training exercises, responding to scenarios involving a simulated chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or explosive threat, including a simulated attack at a haunted house attraction. During the exercises, the CST conducted reconnaissance and sample-collection missions, analyzing collected substances to determine the severity of the hazard and the appropriate next steps, all under the scrutiny of ARNORTH evaluators.
“The positive evaluation is a direct result of the hard work and realistic training our Civil Support Team dedicates themselves to daily,” said Brig. Gen. Todd Hubbard, the VNG Director of the Joint Staff. “I couldn’t be prouder of this group, and they stand ready to support local and state agencies during incident response to help keep the commonwealth and its citizens safe.”
Maj. Andrew Dodson, the 34th CST’s deputy commander, credited the team’s rigorous training for their successful evaluation.
“The team did a great job,” Dodson said. “After training aggressively during a three-month training ramp-up, the team exceeded expectations. Everyone performed their job to the highest degree of professionalism and demonstrated mastery of CBRN and WMD response capabilities.”
That training included seven full-scale field exercises in just two months.
“The pure intensity of those two months made the actual evaluation seem like an easy day,” Dodson said. “We brought in several CBRN experts to provide high level training, and this ensured we were prepared to tackle anything the ARNORTH evaluation team could throw at us.”
The scenario included low-light survey operations in a dark haunted house attraction, complete with smoke, strobe lights and funhouse mirrors. The survey teams were ready for the challenge. Dodson gave special credit to the survey section’s Tech. Sgt. Taylor Lincoln and Sgt. 1st Class David Foy, who executed downrange operations using a BG-4 breathing apparatus. The BG-4 allows for longer operations than the team’s traditional self-contained breathing apparatus, but generates more heat which can make it more taxing to use.
“Tech. Sgt. Lincoln and Sgt. 1st Class Foy were critical to our success,” said Dodson. “Our survey section bears the heaviest weight during training and incident response. They are the ones on the ground going into a hazardous situation and enduring physical challenges.”
Dodson added that all of the CST’s sections and personnel deserve commendation for a job well done.
“Of the many teams I have been on, this is one of the most proficient all-around teams out there,” he said. “Everyone did a great job.”
The 34th CST is divided into six sections: command, operations, communications, administration/logistics, medical/analytical and survey. Each team member completes between 500 and 900 hours of specialized training during their first year of assignment and continues advanced training throughout their tenure with multiple agencies including the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, the National Fire Academy, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency.
The team’s primary response area includes a 300-mile radius from its home station at Fort Barfoot and stretches as far north as Pennsylvania and as far south as South Carolina. They maintain personnel on standby at all times, can deploy an advance team within 90 minutes of notification and the main body deploys within three hours.
The unit’s assigned transportation includes a command vehicle, operations trailer, a communications vehicle called the unified command suite which provides a broad spectrum of secure communications capabilities, an analytical laboratory system vehicle containing a full suite of analysis equipment to support the complete characterization of an unknown hazard and several general purpose vehicles. The CST normally deploys using its assigned vehicles, but it can be airlifted as required.
Read more about the CST at https://vngpao.info/34thCST.