Preparedness Directorate 

U.S. Department of Homeland Security 
Washington, DC 20531 
Preparedness Directorate Information Bulletin 
No. 224 November 21, 2006 
TO: All State Administrative Agency Heads 
All State Administrative Agency Points of Contact 
All State Homeland Security Directors 
All Urban Area Core City/Core County Points of Contact 
FROM: Jim Kish 
Senior Director, Exercise and Evaluation Division 
Preparedness Directorate, Department of Homeland Security 
SUBJECT: National Exercise Schedule System 

The Preparedness Directorate is pleased to announce the activation of the new National Exercise 
Schedule (NEXS) System. The NEXS is a compilation of all national-level, federal, state, local, tribal, 
and territorial exercises. The new NEXS System, located on the Homeland Security Exercise and 
Evaluation Program (HSEEP) website (https://hseep.dhs.gov), allows users to schedule exercises and 
view the existing calendar and customized reports (e.g., list of pandemic influenza exercises scheduled 
in a state). 

Federal departments and agencies, states, and territories designated Exercise Administrative Authorities 
(EAAs) responsible for approving users and publishing all exercises for their organization in the NEXS 
System. Designated EAAs have been trained on the use of the system through numerous on-line 
sessions. Additional opportunities to attend training sessions are available. 

The Exercise Scheduler compartment of the Centralized Scheduling Information System (CSIS), which 
resides on the Office of Grants and Training (G&T) Secure Portal, will be deactivated. From this point 
forward, please schedule all new exercises in the NEXS System. 

Per FY ’05 and FY ’06 Homeland Security Grant Program guidance, State Administrative Agencies 
(SAAs) are required to schedule all exercises through the NEXS System, so that it can accurately reflect 
all the exercises (e.g., REP, CSEPP, public health, transit, port security, etc.) occurring throughout the 
nation. 

If CSIS was used to upload After Action Report/Improvement Plans (AAR/IPs), please use the library 
on the G&T Portal to upload AAR/IPs into your respective state folder. 

In the future, users will be able to input AAR/IPs through a Corrective Action Program (CAP) System. 
The NEXS System, Design and Development System and CAP System comprise the HSEEP Toolkit. 
These systems will be integrated so that users will be able to schedule their exercises in the NEXS 
System, plan their exercises in the Design and Development System, and report and track corrective 
actions in the CAP System. 

If you have any questions related to this information bulletin, please email: nexs@dhs.gov.