**[Executive Summary/Approach/Findings]{.smallcaps}**

##### ![](media/image1.jpeg){width="2.4in" height="1.8770833333333334in"}TOPOFF Exercise

The United States Congress, believing "that few of the ***top
officials*** of agencies have ever fully participated" in domestic
preparedness exercises has directed the Department of Justice to conduct
an exercise "with the participation of all key personnel who would
participate in the consequence management of \[an actual chemical,
biological, or cyber\] terrorist event." \[Senate Report 105-233\]

###### TOPOFF Exercise Planning Conference

The **TOPOFF Exercise Planning Conference** brought together over 100
state and local emergency response planners and practitioners from
across the nation, to identify objectives to be used in designing the
Top Official's (TOPOFF) Exercise. Hosted by the Department of Justice
and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Conference was held May
20-21, 1999 in Chantilly, VA.

Over the day and a half of the Conference, fire/HAZMAT, law enforcement,
medical/EMS, and emergency management professionals identified and
prioritized consensus objectives reflecting each discipline and
jurisdiction, large and small. As a result, the TOPOFF Exercise will
directly address the concerns and issues of Stakeholders nationwide.

###### The Process

On the morning of the first day of the conference, participants were
assigned to functional / professional working groups (law enforcement,
fire / HazMat, medical/EMS, local emergency management, and state
emergency management). These work­groups were asked to identify and
prioritize critical exercise objectives for a national exercise.

In the afternoon session, these exercise objectives were considered by
five multidisciplinary groups, tasked with recommending consensus
objectives for use by the TOPOFF exercise planners. Their prioritized
objectives reflect the cross-cutting nature of the groups' makeup and
provide the basis for the Conference's recommendations.

###### TOPOFF Conference Recommendations

![](media/image2.jpeg){width="3.1in" height="2.066666666666667in"}The
following categories highlight the final objectives that were produced
by the TOPOFF Conference participants.

####### Command and Control

-   Exercise an integrated Emergency Management Structure (Incident
    Command System, Unified Command System, etc.).

-   Exercise Interagency and Intra-agency coordination.

-   Demonstrate Federal, State, and local integration and cooperation.

-   Show the integration of the medical community into the overall
    emergency response.

-   Exercise the interaction between crisis to consequence management:
    FBI and FEMA roles.

-   Exercise crime scene evidence preservation, criminal investigation,
    and chain of custody issues.

-   Exercise communications degradation.

-   Review and exercise procedures and mechanisms for reimbursement to
    local and State agencies for expenses and losses incurred due to a
    WMD incident.

####### Incident Timing/Scope

-   A no notice event

-   Stage multiple events at multiple locations or jurisdictions on a
    local, State, and Federal level. Utilize contrasting cities (i.e.
    Nunn-Lugar-Domenici and non-Nunn-Lugar-Domenici cities) and involve
    rural participants.

-   Exercise over multiple days.

-   Conduct the event with "real time" deployment of assets and real
    resource limitations in handling mass fatalities and mass
    casualties.

-   Address both crisis and consequence management issues
    simultaneously.

-   Demonstrate the distinction between chemical and biological
    incidents, including an overt release, covert release, and hoax.
    Recognize, identify and predict consequences stemming from a
    chemical or biological event. Have a combined event, (i.e. explosive
    and a biological agent).

####### Public Information

-   Exercise and evaluate public affairs plans and procedures for
    establishing and maintaining responsive and thoroughly coordinated
    public information programs at the local, State, and Federal levels.

-   Prepare to handle disinformation and misinformation from overnight
    experts, media designated Subject Matter Experts, media use by the
    adversary, as well as public expectations and misunderstandings.

####### Medical/Public Health

-   Exercise the medical and public health infrastructure, response and
    resources, provision of health resources (prophylaxis), and mutual
    aid/support to handle mass casualties and mass fatalities on an
    immediate level. Assess the ability to provide extended care and
    extended resources. Examine the effectiveness and timeliness of the
    Federal government response to provide long-term support to
    jurisdictions.

-   Demonstrate the ability to protect lives.

-   Prevent injury at all levels through an assessment of the capability
    to deliver, distribute and administer medical supplies (antibiotics,
    antidotes, and vaccinations, ventilators, ICU capabilities) and
    personnel in a timely manner, and manage disposition of mass
    fatalities (the management of contaminated remains).

-   Exercise surveillance, diagnosis, and identification capabilities.

-   Show the ability to effectively integrate supplemental support.

-   Determine the capabilities and resources to provide mental health
    care for victims, first responders, and the community at large.

![](media/image3.jpeg){width="3.8in"
height="1.8208333333333333in"}**Infrastructure**

-   Test the ability to protect and/or respond to disruptions of
    critical infrastructure resulting from a catastrophic WMD attack.

-   Test different types of infrastructure, public works, (water and
    wastewater), utilities, and transportation.

-   Test quarantine challenges (transportation of victims and facilities
    to house them).

-   Test technical capabilities of federal resources, including software
    and hardware.

####### Resource Management

-   Promote and broaden understanding of the assets available at all
    levels, how to call up these assets, and stress the most effective
    integration of federal assets in local, county, and State
    operations.

-   Analyze the adequacy of current federal response systems and
    programs at meeting local, State, and regional needs.

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-   Identify, manage, and move Federal, State, and local resources and
    mutual aid pacts, including local accommodation/reception support to
    augment federal assets.

-   Demonstrate the prioritization of limited specialized Federal
    response assets to separate and simultaneous WMD incidents.

-   Utilize a broad resource pool: contractors, the private sector,
    volunteers and Non-Governmental Organizations.

-   Integrate the activation/call up of personnel, including Reserves
    and the National Guard.

####### Information Sharing

-   Demonstrate the value of information sharing between Federal, State,
    and local entities in preventing and/or mitigating the consequences
    of WMD.

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-   Exercise information sharing horizontally, vertically, up, down and
    across all levels.

-   Reassess classification issues, who should be cleared?

-   Conduct threat assessments and pre-event intelligence for
    jurisdictions.

####### Interoperable Communications

-   Expose suspected gaps in physical communications interoperability
    between functional and jurisdictional levels of government during a
    WMD incident.

####### Lessons Learned

-   Utilize a neutral party or observers to assist in the peer
    evaluation and capture of lessons learned.

-   Disseminate After Action Reports on a timely and widespread basis.

-   Ensure widespread dissemination and discussion of lessons learned.

-   Maintain a comprehensive recording of incident play.

-   Identify and evaluate the efficacy of deployed Federal and State
    assets and standing response plans utilized during the incident
    response.