The Department of Defense notified Congress today that certification has been completed for the Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Teams (WMD-CST) of the Maryland and Mississippi National Guard.

These teams, the 32nd WMD-CST at Fort Meade, Md., and the 47th WMD-CST in Jackson, Miss., are fully ready to assist civil authorities in responding to a domestic weapon of mass destruction incident and possess the requisite skills, training, and equipment to be proficient in all mission requirements.

With these two teams, a total of 10 WMD-CST teams have been certified out of the 12 teams authorized in the DoD Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2004. The two teams that have not yet been certified are nearing completion of the certification process.

All 32 of the teams authorized under legislation in fiscal years 1999, 2000, and 2001 have already been certified. This brings the total number of certified teams to 42. Congress has authorized a total of 55 WMD-CSTs, which is enough to field at least one team in every state, territory and the District of Columbia.

The final 11 teams that were authorized in fiscal year 2005 will be certified by March 2007.