DRAPER, Utah --
The Utah National Guard's 85th Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team deployed to Texas October 1 to support local authorities in recovery efforts from the damage caused when Hurricane Ike struck the Gulf Coast earlier this month.
The 22-member team consisting of members from the Utah Air and Army National Guard, is based in Lehi, and is trained to assist civilian authorities with detection, assessment and response capabilities for hazardous materials.
The team's commander, Lt. Col. Kevin Nuccetelli, said members will be gone for approximately two weeks to help support the Hurricane Ike recovery effort.
The 85th deployed at the request of the State of Texas through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, a nationwide agreement which matches needs with assets and capabilities in the event of a natural disaster or civil emergency.
Utah's counterpart in Wyoming, the 84th Civil Support Team, is currently providing support to authorities in Beaumont, Texas, and the 85th CST will relieve them in supporting communications and survey-assessment missions with the 6th CST of the Texas National Guard and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
The 85th fulfilled a similar mission in the
fall of 2005, spending several weeks in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
First Sgt. Darren Budget, a team member, went with the CST to help after hurricanes Rita and Katrina. He said, "We are all Americans. It's important that we help out each other."