Missouri Guardsmen make meth to learn how to identify meth labs

Pulaski County Daily News ^ | 10/1/2009 | Matthew J. Wilson/Missouri National Guard Public Affairs

[darrellmaurina]

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (Oct. 1, 2009) — Four Missouri National Guardsmen in the 7th Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team based at Fort Leonard Wood recently participated in clandestine lab training at the Missouri Highway Patrol headquarters. The four men, 1st Lt. Nathan Looper of Lynchburg, 1st Lt. Matthew Marks and 1st Lt. Richard Sambolin of Waynesville, and Staff Sgt. Jason Allabaugh of Chadwick, took the course as part of their training, along with law enforcement officials from across the state. The class was primarily geared toward the detection and cleanup of methamphetamine labs. “Now we can look at photos of labs taken by our reconnaissance team and identify whether it is a terroristic lab or a meth lab,” Looper said. Being able to tell the difference is important for the team because their mission is to focus on detecting, identifying, and neutralizing weapons of mass destruction. Meth labs, however, are generally left to law enforcement.