Throughout the months of July and November, FF/EMT Justin Bowers attended various training courses around the country. Drawing first responders from all 50 states, these programs were designed to teach members of the emergency response disciplines such as fire, EMS, and law enforcement how to prevent, detect, mitigate, and respond to various terrorist incidents that involve Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, or Explosive (CBRNE) devices. The training was fully funded by the Department of Homeland Security. Travel, lodging, and meals were all provided. Each class lasted a week and focused on a different threat. They were:

Weapons of Mass Destruction HAZMAT Technician. Anniston, Alabama
Trained students how to operate in a CBRNE environment including personal protective equipment, sampling, metering, decontamination, and victim rescue. The training concluded with an exercise in the COBRA (Chemical, Ordance, Biological, Radiation, Anti Terrorism) Training Facility conducted under live chemical agent conditions.

Incident Response to Terrorist Bombing (IRTB). Socorro, NM
This training dealt with all kinds of commercial and military explosives and more importantly how terrorists around the world acquire and use these materials to carry out their attacks.

Prevention and Response to Suicide Bombing Incidents (PRSBI). Deming, NM
A follow on to the training in IRTB, this class narrowed the scope to the suicide bomber threat. The class taught how to prevent, detect, and mitigate a suicide bomber incident. Training included investigations, community outreach, and tactical response.

Rad/Nuke Response Training. Las Vegas, NV
This training was learning to deal with any kind of radiation threat. Students trained at the Nevada National Security site which was host to hundreds of nuclear weapons tests for nearly 50 years.

There was also plenty of time for sightseeing and networking with fellow students from around the country. Also while in New Mexico, FF/EMT Bowers was given the extremely rare opportunity to spend an evening on duty with members of the Las Cruces Station of the United States Border Patrol.