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TOPOFF: Exercising National Preparedness

Top Officials (TOPOFF) is the nation’s premier terrorism preparedness exercise, involving top officials at every level of government, as well as representatives from the international community and private sector. Thousands of federal, state, territorial, and local officials engage in various activities as part of a robust, full-scale simulated response to a multi-faceted threat.

The exercise addresses policy and strategic issues that mobilize prevention and response systems, require participants to make difficult decisions, carry out essential functions, and challenge their ability to maintain a common operating picture during an incident of national significance.

TOPOFF was mandated by Congress in an effort to engage Top Officials in the decision making processes they would face in a real world disaster – from public health concerns to communications issues among agencies and the media.

Each TOPOFF builds on lessons learned from previous exercises and real world disasters, thus ensuring that participants face successively more sophisticated and challenging exercises.

Challenging the Entire Homeland Security System

Exercises such as TOPOFF are an important component of national preparedness, helping to build an integrated federal, state, territorial, local, and private sector capability to prevent terrorist attacks, and rapidly and effectively respond to, and recover from, any terrorist attack or major disaster that does occur. The full-scale exercise offers agencies and jurisdictions a way to test their plans and skills in a real-time, realistic environment and to gain the in-depth knowledge that only experience can provide. Participants will also exercise prevention and intelligence gathering functions, which are critical to preventing terrorist attacks. Lessons learned from the exercise will provide valuable insights to guide future planning for securing the nation against terrorist attacks, disasters, and other emergencies.

TOPOFF 4: Increasing Coordination through Collaboration

  • Conducted in October 2007, TOPOFF 4 took place in Portland, Ore.; Phoenix, Ariz.; and for the first time, the U.S. territory of Guam as well as in Washington, D.C. for federal partners. 
  • The exercise builit on past lessons learned while adding new goals, including: an increased level of coordination with U.S. Department of Defense exercises to combat global terrorism, closer cooperation with the private sector, an expanded emphasis on prevention, a deeper focus on mass decontamination and long-term recovery and remediation issues, and strengthened coordination and communications with international allies.
  • More than 15,000 participants representing federal, state, territorial, and local entities, as well as the governments of Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom, participated in the exercise.
  • All venues responded to a radiological RDD attack.
  • More on TOPOFF 4

TOPOFF 3: Exercising National Preparedness

  • Conducted in April 2005, TOPOFF 3 was the first test of the National Response Plan (NRP) and National Incident Management System (NIMS).
  • TOPOFF 3 continued to evolve and included an increased focus on bolstering international and private sector participation, terrorism prevention activities, risk communication and public information functions, and long-term recovery and remediation issues.
  • Over 10,000 participants, including responders and officials from Canada and the United Kingdom, responded to a simulated chemical attack in New London, Conn., and a biological attack in the state of New Jersey.
  • The exercise marked the launch of a new simulated media tool – the interactive web site VNN.com.
  • More on TOPOFF 3

TOPOFF 2: Assessing Homeland Security Planning

  • Conducted in May 2003, TOPOFF 2 was the first national exercise following the September 11, 2001 attacks and was led by the newly-formed Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
  • TOPOFF 2 provided the first opportunity for DHS to exercise its organizational functions and assets, including tests of the Homeland Security Advisory System (HSAS).
  • Participants in Seattle faced a simulated radiological dispersal device (RDD) attack, while those in the Chicago faced a biological attack.
  • The exercise engaged 8,500 responders and top officials from the United States and Canada – the first international partner to participate.

TOPOFF 2000: Coordinated, Strategic National Response

  • In May 2000, the Department of Justice, the Department of State, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) led the first exercise in the TOPOFF series.
  • The primary goal of the exercise was to improve the capability of government officials and agencies, both within the United States and abroad to provide an effective, coordinated, and strategic response to a terrorist attack.
  • More than 6,500 federal, state, and local personnel – including top officials – responded to a simulated biological attack in Denver, Colorado and a simulated chemical attack in Portsmouth, N.H.
  • The exercise introduced a new element in preparedness exercises: a simulated media outlet known as the Virtual News Network (VNN). VNN kept players up-to-date on unfolding events and forced decision-makers to face the challenge of communicating with real-world media in a crisis.

This page was last reviewed/modified on April 21, 2008.