United States Department of Defense

            The Department of Defense notified Congress today that Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Teams (WMD-CST) of the New Hampshire, Vermont, Delaware, North Dakota and Montana National Guard are now certified.

            The 12^th WMD-CST of Concord, N.H., the 15^th WMD-CST of South Burlington, Vt., the 31^st WMD-CST of Wilmington, Del., the 81^st WMD-CST of Bismarck, N.D., and the 83^rd WMD-CST of Fort Harrison, Mont., are fully ready to assist civil authorities in responding to a domestic weapon of mass destruction incident, and possess the requisite skills, training and equipment to be proficient in all mission requirements.

            The five teams certified today bring the total number of teams certified by DoD to 47.  Congress has authorized a total of 55 WMD-CSTs, which is enough to field at least one team in every state, territory and the District of Columbia.