IIR 6 815 0004 05/CANADIAN ARMY RESERVE UNITS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 OTTAWA 003001 SIPDIS CONFIDENTIAL NOFORN SIPDIS SERIAL: (U) IIR 6 815 0004 05. COUNTRY: (U) CANADA (CA). IPSP: (U) IFC2310; IFC2410; IFC2420; IFC1530; IFC1120; IFC1131; IFC113 ¶2. TAGS: PARM SUBJECT: IIR 6 815 0004 05/CANADIAN ARMY RESERVE UNITS CONDUCT COUNTER-TERRORISM TRAINING (U) WARNING: (U) THIS IS AN INFORMATION REPORT, NOT FINALLY EVALUATED INTELLIGENCE. REPORT IS CLASSIFIED C O N F I D E N T I A L/NOFORN. -------------- -------------- DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE -------------- -------------- DOI: (U) 20041106. REQS: (U) DHCD204005; DHCD127041; G-TRI-1673-073-03. SOURCE: (U) //MEMBER USDAO OTTAWA// AS A RESULT OF DIRECT OBSERVATION. SUMMARY: (C) CANADIAN ARMY RESERVE ELEMENTS CONDUCTED COUNTER-TERRORISM TRAINING WITH OTTAWA-BASED CIVILIAN EMERGENCY FIRST-RESPONDERS ON 20041106. THE EXERCISE, INCLUDING MORE THAN 150 PARTICIPANTS, SIMULATED RESPONSE TO A TERRORIST CHEMICAL AGENT ATTACK IN THE OTTAWA CITY HALL. TEXT. 1. (U) ELEMENTS OF THE GOVERNOR GENERAL'S FOOT GUARDS, THE REGIMENT DE HULL, AND THE GEOMATICS DETACHMENT OF THE THIRD FIELD ENGINEERS, ALL CANADIAN ARMY RESERVE UNITS BASED IN THE NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION OF OTTAWA, PARTICIPATED IN A COUNTER-TERRORISM TRAINING EXERCISE WITH OTTAWA-BASED CIVILIAN EMERGENCY FIRST-RESPONDERS FROM THE LOCAL POLICE, FIRE, AND PARAMEDIC AMBULANCE SERVICES ON 20041106. THE PURPOSE OF THE EXERCISE FROM THE CANADIAN ARMY'S PERSPECTIVE WAS TO TEST THE POTENTIAL CAPABILITIES OF RESERVE UNITS TO AUGMENT CIVILIAN FIRST-RESPONDERS IN THE EVENT OF A NUCLEAR, BIOLOGICAL, AND CHEMICAL DEFENSE (NBCD) EMERGENCY. MORE THAN 150 PERSONNEL PARTICIPATED IN THE EXERCISE, LASTING APPROXIMATELY TWO HOURS. ¶2. (U) THE EXERCISE SCENARIO WAS BASED UPON A MUSTARD GAS ATTACK WITHIN THE OTTAWA CITY HALL BY AN UNSPECIFIED TERRORIST ORGANIZATION. THE FOCUS OF THE EXERCISE WAS THE RECOVERY OF CASUALTIES FROM CITY HALL AND THEIR SUBSEQUENT DECONTAMINATION, TRIAGE, MEDICAL TREATMENT, AND EVACUATION FROM THE EXERCISE SITE (THE LARGE LAWN AREA ADJACENT TO CITY HALL). THE OTTAWA CITY POLICE WERE IN COMMAND OF THE EXERCISE AND RESPONSIBLE FOR PERIMETER SECURITY. ALL EXERCISE PARTICIPANTS, EXCLUDING SIMULATED CASUALTIES, WERE IN FULL PROTECTIVE POSTURE CLOTHING (GAS MASKS, OVERGARMENTS, GLOVES, AND BOOTS). ¶3. (U) THE REGIMENT DE HULL, AN ARMORED RECONNAISSANCE UNIT, WAS TASKED TO CONDUCT NBCD RECONNAISSANCE AND SITE DECONTAMINATION OF THE EXERCISE AREA. THE RECON TEAM OF THE REGIMENT WAS EQUIPPED WITH A CHEMICAL AGENT MONITOR (NATO STOCK NUMBER: 6665-99-420-3628). NBCD RECONNAISSANCE DATA WAS TRANSMITTED VIA RADIO TO THE GEOMATICS DETACHMENT OF THE THIRD FIELD ENGINEERS, WHICH PRODUCED REAL-TIME EXERCISE SITE MAPS FOR USE BY ALL ELEMENTS. THE GOVERNOR GENERAL'S FOOT GUARDS, AN INFANTRY REGIMENT NORMALLY ASSIGNED CEREMONIAL AND GUARD DUTIES, WAS TASKED TO ERECT AND OPERATE A PERSONNEL DECONTAMINATION STATION TO AUGMENT THE ONE OPERATED BY CIVILIAN PARAMEDICS. THE FOOT GUARDS ACCOMPLISHED THIS WITHIN TWENTY MINUTES AND THEIR DECONTAMINATION STATION WAS SUPERIOR TO THE CIVILIAN STATION THROUGH CREATIVE USE OF MILITARY TENTAGE, FIELD SHOWER PLUMBING, AND SPACE HEATERS. ¶4. (U) NOTABLES WHO ATTENDED THE TRAINING EXERCISE INCLUDED MR. GEORGES ((BEDARD)),DEPUTY MAYOR OF OTTAWA; MAJOR GENERAL MARC ((CARON)),ASSISTANT CHIEF OF THE LAND STAFF; AND MAJOR GENERAL ED ((FITCH)),PROGRAM MANAGER FOR LAND FORCES RESERVE RESTRUCTURE. CONSPICUOUS BY THEIR ABSENCE WERE ANY REPRESENTATIVES OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS CANADA (PSEPC). SEVERAL MEDIA PHOTOGRAPHERS RECORDED THE EVENT, BUT NO COVERAGE APPEARED IN THE OTTAWA CITIZEN NEWSPAPER ON EITHER 20041107 OR 20041108. COMMENTS: 1. (C/NF) FIELD COMMENTS. THE MILITARY ELEMENTS THAT PARTICIPATED IN THIS EXERCISE CLEARLY DEMONSTRATED THE CAPABILITY OF CANADIAN ARMY RESERVE UNITS TO AUGMENT CIVILIAN FIRST-RESPONDERS IN THE EVENT OF A NBCD EMERGENCY. IN FACT, AS CIVILIAN FIRST-RESPONDER ASSETS WERE QUICKLY OVERWHELMED BY A RELATIVELY SMALL NUMBER OF CASUALTIES, AUGMENTATION BY ARMY RESERVE UNITS, IF PROPERLY EQUIPPED AND TRAINED, COULD PROVE TO BE ESSENTIAL DURING AN ACTUAL EMERGENCY. ALTHOUGH THIS TEST WAS OBVIOUSLY SUCCESSFUL FOR THE ARMY, THE ISSUE IS NOW WHETHER SUCH TASKS BECOME PART OF RESERVE UNIT MISSION STATEMENTS. THIS WOULD REQUIRE NOT ONLY A POLICY DECISION AT THE MINISTER OF DEFENCE LEVEL, BUT ALSO THE ALLOCATION OF RESOURCES TO EQUIP AND TRAIN RESERVE UNITS. ¶2. (U) SOURCE REMAINS AVAILABLE FOR FURTHER EXPLOITATION/CONTACT. ¶3. (U) DHO-1 POINT OF CONTACT, STU III (703) 907-0541; AND GREY 981-8236. ¶4. (C) THIS IIR RESPONDS TO PRIORITY 1, PARA 1B, AND PRIORITY 3, PARA 1A OF USDAO OTTAWA'S OPERATING DIRECTIVE. COLL: (U) AH; CA; DB. INSTR: (U) US NO. PREP: (U) 6-02539. ACQ: (U) CANADA, OTTAWA, ON (20041106). DISSEM: (U) FIELD: AMEMB OTTAWA. WARNING: (U) REPORT CLASSIFIED C O N F I D E N T I A L/NOT RELEASABLE TO FOREIGN NATIONALS. DRV FROM: DO HUMINT SCG SEP 2003 DECL ON: X1