A specialized Rapid City National Guard unit on Tuesday was directed to help Texas authorities with hazardous materials washed ashore in the wake of Hurricane Ike.

The assignment in the Houston area is the first for the 82nd Civil Support Team since it became certified in July 2007. The team's full-time soldiers and airmen are stationed at Ellsworth Air Force Base and train in handling weapons of mass destruction and responding to natural disasters.

Seventeen members from the 82nd, along with five members from the 81st Civil Support Team of the North Dakota National Guard, will support the 6th Civil Support Team of the Texas National Guard and the Texas State Commission on Environmental Quality.

The two-week assignment includes maintaining equipment so military and civilian agencies can communicate. The group also will help identify substances washed ashore along the Texas coast or displaced inland by the storm and advise civilian authorities on proper disposal.

Using special military and commercial detection and communication equipment, the 82nd can provide rapid analysis of unidentified substances to include chemical or radiological hazards and identification of biological agents.