Sgt. 1st Class Garrick Whitley, California National

Sgt. 1st Class Garrick Whitley, California National Guard 95th Civil Support Team (Weapons of Mass Destruction), a native of Aberdeen, Md., is promoted to his current grade in the CS gas chamber during joint operations with Soldiers from the 95th Chemical Company, 2d Engineer Brigade, at the Arctic Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Site on JBER-Richardson July 19. Like Alaska's own 103rd CST (WMD), the California team is composed of Army and Air Force National Guardsmen, trained in NBC and HAZMAT identification, assessment, and sampling. Their primary mission is to provide first responder support to civil authorities in matters of NBC, HAZMAT, and other major incidents. The week's training included a joint operations and casualty evacuation; suspected HAZMAT lab clearing; NBC training; and weapons familiarization.