by James Prichard, Associated Press
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) - When U.S. Rep. Fred Upton decided to update some local veterans Friday about Michigan’s new anti-terrorism military unit, he called upon an old childhood friend who knows a great deal about both the military and terrorism.
The office of Major Gen. Robert L. Van Antwerp Jr., the Army’s assistant chief of staff for installation management, was two rooms away from where the nose of a hijacked jetliner crashed into the Pentagon on Sept. 11.
The ensuing 2,000-degree fire incinerated Van Antwerp’s office. A metal filing cabinet inside was found melted into a puddle on the floor.
He was attending a nearby meeting, away from the Pentagon, at the time of the attack and escaped almost-certain death. His secretary and his administrative assistant were not as fortunate.
“Terrorism is a different kind of warfare,” Van Antwerp told an audience at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1527. “It’s unconventional. ... It has to be fought differently.”
Upton, a Republican from St. Joseph, and Van Antwerp were among the officials on hand to discuss the training progress of the anti-terrorism unit, which is based at Fort Custer in Battle Creek.
Upton and Sen. Carl Levin, a Democrat, were the driving forces in Michigan’s congressional delegation behind creating the unit, which goes by the name of the 51st Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team.
While Michigan’s unit was formed as a direct result of the Sept. 11 attacks, similar teams in other states were assembled after bombings in Oklahoma City and at the Atlanta Olympics, and the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center. There are now 32 such teams around the country and more are expected to be formed.
By the end of September, Congress had approved the formation of Michigan’s elite 22-member team, which is made up of Army National Guard and Air National Guard personnel. Initial, intensive training started in February and is expected to continue until September or October, said Lt. Col. Burt Francisco, who leads the unit..
In addition, millions of dollars’ worth of anti-terrorism equipment to be used by the unit is on its way to Fort Custer, Upton said.
The team’s primary function is to prepare for and respond to chemical, biological, nuclear and radiological acts of terror in Michigan. Once the Pentagon certifies the unit, probably later this year, it will begin instructing representatives of local police and other emergency agencies on methods of combatting terrorism.
“They’re going to get familiar with the infrastructure and everything so that if something happens - bingo - we’re ready,” Upton said.
As a brigadier general in the Michigan Air National Guard, Kalamazoo County Sheriff Thomas N. Edmonds is doubly interested in the development of the anti-terrorist unit and how it will benefit local law enforcement.
Edmonds said the public now expects local emergency-response personnel to be prepared in the event of a terror attack.
“They will find it unacceptable if we are not trained and equipped for chemical and biological attack,” he said.