{"id":10707,"date":"2025-07-22T13:39:48","date_gmt":"2025-07-22T13:39:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/?p=10707"},"modified":"2025-07-31T17:35:46","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T17:35:46","slug":"fbi-and-wmd-civil-support-team-strengthen-partnership-during-fort-meade-exercise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/2025\/07\/22\/fbi-and-wmd-civil-support-team-strengthen-partnership-during-fort-meade-exercise\/","title":{"rendered":"FBI and WMD Civil Support Team strengthen partnership during Fort Meade Exercise"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Abigail Carey<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, Md. \u2014 Members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Maryland National Guard\u2019s 32nd Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team conducted joint training here July 10-11 to strengthen relationships during chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or explosive incidents at high-visibility public events.

The two-day exercise simulated a weapon of mass destruction discovery at a sporting event, underscoring the importance of readiness for upcoming events such as the World Cup games, slated to be held in nine American cities.

This collaborative training prepared both teams for major events and fostered a deeper understanding of each other\u2019s capabilities and crisis response protocols.

\u201cIt is so important to establish a relationship before the incident,\u201d said Brig. Gen. Javontka Hoeflein, National Guard Bureau Vice Director of Operations. \u201cIt makes such a difference when you are able to train in advance.\u201d

Special Assistant for Strategic Initiatives Brig. Gen. Craig Hunter emphasized the vital role of partnerships within the Maryland National Guard\u2019s mission.

\u201cPartnership is the key to success, especially as the threat evolves,\u201d Hunter said.

During the exercise, the teams honed their response procedures so both could achieve mission success, including collecting CBRNE evidence and safely removing hazards from the environment.

\u201cWhile the military and civil support team focus on public safety, the FBI focuses on prosecution and investigation,\u201d Supervisory Special Agent Jason Parrish said. \u201cWe stay in our lanes but work together for the betterment of the mission.

While situations like biological or chemical terrorism are thankfully uncommon, these exercises help first responder teams prepare for if, and when, it does happen.

\u201cYou can tell how good we are based on preparedness,\u201d Microbiologist Tiffany Mott said. \u201cEvery exercise, we get better and better. We integrate new technology and learn from each scenario and situation. It helps us [develop] pattern recognition.\u201d

The collaborative spirit and rigorous training demonstrated during this joint exercise offers a reassuring peek as the nation prepares to host the World Cup and other large-scale events beyond. The FBI and the 32nd WMD-CST are not simply reacting to potential threats \u2013 they are proactively building a robust, adaptable defense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Abigail Carey FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, Md. \u2014 Members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Maryland National Guard\u2019s 32nd Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team conducted joint training here July 10-11 to strengthen relationships during chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or explosive incidents at high-visibility public events. The two-day exercise simulated a weapon  Read the Rest…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":161,"featured_media":10722,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10707","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/161"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10707"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10707\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10738,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10707\/revisions\/10738"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10707"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10707"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10707"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}