On any other day, the sight of two monster CH53 helicopters unloading Marines onto an athletic field at Washington College would be terrifying. On Wednesday, it was just a day of training for Marines who are part of an anti-terrorism brigade stationed at Naval Surface Warfare Center in Indian Head. About 200 soldiers, many of whom decontaminated Capitol Hill office buildings after anthrax and ricin attacks, streamed out of helicopters and hazmat vans Wednesday morning to “rescue and treat” 200 volunteers posing as victims trapped in a dormitory. The purpose of the drill was to train Marines and local emergency workers how to coordinate a response to a real chemical weapons attack. Local, state and federal responders _ in that order _ would be called to action if a dirty bomb exploded. Without drills to determine how those multiple agencies would coordinate, the result might be chaotic, organizers said. Full Story
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