Army sets up "one-stop shop" for chem-bio response.

• Author: Fein, Geoff S.

The six-month-old Guardian Brigade is the Army's first step in creating an organization that will provide soldier and civilian response to chemical and biological accidents and incidents in the United States or overseas.

Guardian Brigade personnel are trained and equipped to handle a variety of missions, from chem-bio response to explosive ordnance recovery. Typically, teams are deployed once first-responder capabilities have either been overwhelmed, or need to be supplemented.

"It's a one-stop shop for all the hazards we may have to face," said Col. Timothy Madere, commander of the Guardian Brigade.

The concept for the Guardian Brigade grew out of the Defense Against Weapons of Mass Destruction Act of 1996, said Madere.

The act provided for military assistance to civilian law enforcement officials in emergency situations involving biological or chemical weapons.

Guardian Brigade is stationed temporarily at the Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. It reports directly to the Army's Research, Development and Engineering Command. Eventually, the organization will answer to Forces Command, at Fort McPherson, Ga., and it will undergo a name change to the Chemical Biological Radiological...