After more than 20 years in the U.S. Air Force, Nicholas Otero formed Tactical Pause Training Group with the goal of teaching what he learned from responding to military-grade hazmat incidents to first responders around the country.

Otero finished his career as the information systems analyst for the 95th Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team. During this seven-year span he responded to multiple real world WMD incidents. Otero also planned multiple national-level exercises.

Now, he leads a team of eight subject matter experts in chemical and biological weapons attacks, medical, communications, analytics and incident command. Most of the team are either retired civil support members or are retired or active fire hazmat or first responders.  

The company provides training to help first responders mitigate real-world chemical, biological and radiological threats as well as active shooter and weapons of mass destruction events. 

To get that real-world feel, the company uses chemical and biological labs simulating medical symptoms, mechanism of injury and casualties, as well as other props.

Among the young company’s biggest wins was conducting real-world hazmat and communication training for four multiple civil support teams with separate sites.

Hazmat and weapons of mass destruction training is a very specialized industry. The company knows that building rapport throughout the country and elsewhere will be challenging until it establishes a word-of-mouth reputation.