Exercise
Exercises assess and validate the speed, effectiveness and efficiency of capabilities, and test the adequacy of policies, plans, procedures, and protocols in a risk-free environment. Aside from actual events, they provide the best means of evaluating homeland security capabilities. Organizations should conduct exercises as scheduled in a Multi-Year Training and Exercise Schedule developed at the annual Training and Exercise Plan Workshop (T&EPW). By scheduling complementary training and exercise activities that gradually increase in complexity, the Multi-Year Training and Exercise Schedule systematically builds and enhances an organization’s capabilities.
National Exercise Program
The National Exercise Program (NEP) provides an organized approach to set priorities for exercises, reflect those priorities in a multi-year schedule of exercises that serves the strategic and policy goals of the U.S. Government, and address findings from those exercises through a disciplined interagency process. The NEP establishes the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) as the exercise methodology and tools to support the NEP.
Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program
HSEEP is a capabilities and performance-based exercise program that provides a standardized methodology and terminology for exercise design, development, conduct, evaluation, and improvement planning.
National Exercise Simulation Center
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.
Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program (CSEPP) Exercises
Since 1988, FEMA and the U.S. Army have assisted communities surrounding the seven chemical stockpile sites to enhance their abilities to respond to the unlikely event of a chemical agent emergency. The US stockpile of chemical agents is safely stored at six sites across the country. These sites are located in Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Indiana/Illinois, Kentucky, Oregon/Washington, and Utah. Sites comply with annual CSEPP exercise requirements.
Radiological Emergency Preparedness (REP) Program Exercises
FEMA established the Radiological Emergency Preparedness (REP) Program to (1) ensure the health and safety of citizens living around commercial nuclear power plants would be adequately protected in the event of a nuclear power plant accident; and (2) inform and educate the public about radiological emergency preparedness. REP Program responsibilities encompass only “offsite” activities, that is, State, tribal and local government emergency planning and preparedness activities, to including exercises that follow REP exercise methodology.
Last Modified: Thursday, 09-Apr-2009 11:54:28 EDT