The National Exercise Simulation Center (NESC)
Release Date: January 12, 2009
Release Number: HQ-09-006Factsheet
The National Exercise Simulation Center (NESC) is a Congressionally-mandated state-of-the-art training and exercise facility within FEMA Headquarters, and serves as a key element within the Federal Coordination Center (FCC). The FCC draws on the specialized capabilities of its FEMA elements, including the Disaster Operations Directorate, the National Preparedness Directorate, the Office of National Capital Region Coordination, and others as needed, to collaborate with and support deliberate planning, training, exercises and response operations coordination in the National Capital Region.
The NESC is designed to be a scalable, flexible simulation center to accommodate a wide range of services, including, but not limited to, executive briefings, unique training events, tabletop exercises, and exercise Master Control Cell and National Simulation Cell functions.
The NESC supports the all-hazards preparedness and response mission through:
- Employing a mix of live, virtual and constructive simulations
- Providing standardized and sustained exercise and training support
- Pooling resources to maximizing efficiency
The NESC is an important tool for elected officials and emergency support providers at all levels of government. The National Exercise Program (NEP) and FCC members are key stakeholders within this broad audience. The NESC supports NEP events involving partners from federal, state and local government, nongovernmental organizations and the private sector.
The NESC will provide facilities and systems to allow all stakeholders to train, exercise and refine personnel, procedures and support systems for FEMA and other U.S. government missions. Specifically, the NESC will facilitate the following functions:
- Provides 24 hour support for national-level, federal, state and local exercises throughout the United States and internationally including Radiological Emergency Preparedness Program exercises, Master Control Cell and National Simulation Cell and related functions
- Provides a forum for interagency planners to test their plans (e.g., annual hurricane plans, pandemic influenza plans) by providing realistic incident scenarios through which partners can identify gaps and determine courses of action
- Serves as "future planning" support for FEMA's Disaster Operations Directorate and other FEMA and DHS directorates by providing technical modeling and simulation tools that enable planners to better visualize potential future scenarios
- Coordinates activities that support real world events and exercises, such as Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program training and initial, mid and final planning conferences
- Incorporates real-time mock-media capabilities such as the Virtual News Network that provides exercise participants with realistic breaking news bulletins, interviews and live news coverage of incidents
- Provides practical training opportunities to those learning about exercise design, conduct and management through individual mentorship of federal, state, tribal, and local professionals;
- Links to other centers that provide specialty modeling, simulation and data services, such as the Joint War-fighting Center, the National Infrastructure Simulation and Analysis Center, the Emergency Management Institute, and other centers that provide natural and man-made disaster modeling, constructive simulation tools, and Subject Matter Expert (SME) databases and historical deployment/response information
- Incorporate national and FEMA improvement management services, to include the Remedial Action Management Program, the National Corrective Action Program, and the Lessons Learned Information System, to support in-depth analysis of real world and exercise events and provide real-time lessons learned capabilities
FEMA coordinates the federal government's role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror.
Last Modified: Tuesday, 13-Jan-2009 08:37:05