Prevention Exercises
The importance of prevention is made clear in the executive
summary of the National Strategy for Homeland Security.
The strategic objectives of homeland security in order
of priority are to:
Prevent terrorist attacks within the United States Reduce U.S. vulnerability to terrorism Minimize damage and facilitate recovery from attacks that may occur
State and local jurisdictions should try to incorporate
as many preventive exercises into their programs as possible.
These exercises can be either discussion or operations
based and may focus on issues pertaining to:
Information and intelligence sharing Credible threats Surveillance Opposing/adversary force or "red team" activity (described below)
The National Strategy for Homeland Security identifies
a requirement to employ red team techniques to practice
detecting terrorist activity before it manifests itself
in an attack, with a goal of allowing proper preemptive,
preventive, and protective actions to be taken. The red
team mission is to apply knowledge of terrorists' motivations,
organization, targeting, tactics, techniques, procedures,
weapons, and equipment and assess Federal, State, and
local governments' ability to deter, detect, and defend
against and defeat terrorist attacks.
DHS/ODP employs strategic and tactical red team techniques
in the National Exercise Program (NEP) and has targeted
resources avail-able to provide such an enhancement to
specific State and local exercises conducted in accordance
with HSEEP. States will be able to request an opportunity
to employ a red team and/or universal adversary force
in their State and local exercises. Such requests will
be considered and granted based both on the availability
of resources and scheduling and on the State's
level of demonstrated exercise competency.
Response & Recovery Exercises
Although the prevention and deterrence of attacks are
paramount, it remains probable that incidents will occur.
Therefore, exercises should also include the response
and recovery aspects of an event in addition to prevention.
Response and recovery issues in an exercise may include
notification, communication, command and control, remediation,
return to normalcy, and continuity of government and
business.
Interagency / Interjurisdictional Exercises
Because the prevention of and/or response to a crisis
situation will require resources and expertise from various
agencies and disciplines throughout the Federal, State,
and local government structures, an exercise should
assess the capacity of multiple organizations and the
effectiveness of interagency cooperation and inter-operable
communication. The organizations involved in an exercise
may be public or private, from any level of government,
and from disciplines ranging from public health to fire,
as long as they reflect the type of exercise and scenario.
Jurisdictions that would rely heavily on mutual aid assistance
for response should include participants from the agencies
with which they have agreements and compacts. It is also
beneficial to conduct regional exercises that include
participants from multiple agencies and jurisdictions,
because such a scenario would likely reflect actual response
to an event.
Private-Sector Coordination Exercises
Exercise scenarios mimic actual response to the greatest
extent possible; therefore, local and State government
agencies are encouraged to incorporate the private sector.
The range of terrorist targets is not limited to civilian
populations or government facilities. The private sector
can be a target of terrorism because it is often viewed
as a symbol of American economic, social, and military
power or as an extension of the U.S. Government. The
private sector includes commercial, business, and industrial
facilities, tourist attractions, and special events.
It also includes the personnel, source material (if a
production entity), and support systems (for example,
transportation capabilities) of such entities.
Private-sector preparedness and response activities
often mirror those of the surrounding communities. Recognizing
this need, DHS/ODP supports States' efforts to
incorporate major community businesses and facilities
into their SHSEEPs. For example, in one realistic scenario,
a California community held its chemical FSE at a major
industrial plant and used plant employees as victim
actors. Another example of private-sector involvement
is the DHS/ODP initiative to exercise the evacuation
plans of Major League Baseball stadiums.
Private response capabilities, such as fire brigades,
security forces, and medical staff, can augment local
response capabilities and remove a significant burden
from limited local resources during critical situations.
In a real incident, these resources and activities should
be available for mutual aid, and they should be exercised
as such. Other examples of exercise contributions available
from private industry include railroad lines, factory
and other facilities, personal protective equipment
(PPE), hazardous materials (HazMat) control and other
content expertise, and personnel to serve as controllers,
evaluators, or logistical support. Furthermore, in a
real incident, private industry would be included in
the Incident Command System (ICS) structure in the form
of public works, hospitals, and other response entities.
Regional / International Exercises
Participation in regional and international exercises
is a crucial aspect of emergency prepared-ness for many
communities across the country. From Seattle and Vancouver
to San Diego and Tijuana, communities need to plan with
their neighbors for emergencies that cross State or national
borders. Terrorist incidents do not stop at political
borders, and neither should preparedness activities.
Interstate and international resources should be incorporated
into plans and used as appropriate. In some locales,
such as in the Pacific Islands, international assistance
is the closest available mutual aid. Communities should
familiarize themselves with the resources available from
potential regional and international partners and share
their response concepts and standard/emergency operating
procedures (SOPs/EOPs) with these groups.
DHS/ODP supports regional planning and exercise efforts
and has conducted exercises with numerous international
partners. The Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI)
grant program requires the formation of an Urban Area
Working Group (UAWG) to collaborate on assessment and
planning for urban areas and their surrounding communities
and stakeholders; thus, many related exercises will be
conducted on the regional level. During the Top Officials
(TOPOFF 2) National Exercise Series, Canadian agencies
participated as if real-world incidents had occurred
in Seattle or Chicago. Plans to involve international
partners in future national exercises and bordering
State-sponsored exercises are currently in review.
Prevent terrorist attacks within the United States
