# Presentation: 775733

## Developing Community Wide Drills

- 2005 ERCM Grantee Meeting:  *Atlanta, Georgia*

**Notes:**
Introductions.
MITT members are here as representatives of DHS, to provide overview information, lead discussion, and most importantly obtain your input and support.  Chosen because of understanding of preparedness issues, based on experience at the State level and with State level professional associations.

## OHS-GEMA School Safety Unit Services

**Training:  **
**        ****-Weapons Screening/Bus Security and Safety**
**        ****-Bomb Threat Management/Drug Trends**
**        ****-Internet Safety/Gangs/Bullying/Terrorism**
**Technical Assistance**
**        ****-Site Surveys/EOP Evaluations/Exercises**
**Incident Response and Support**

**Notes:**
I'd like to start by giving you an overview of why and how the Nation is moving from a concept of preparedness, focused on the  functions and responsibilities of individual disciplines to national preparedness - a system based on shared responsibility for homeland security.
Next, the Goal.  The framework for national preparedness is set forth in the Interim National Preparedness Goal.
Included as part of the Goal are 7 national priorities - a common starting point for achieving national preparedness.
And finally, the way forward I would like to give you a snapshot of what's being asked of us as we move forward toward achieving the Goal.
There will be plenty of time for discussion.

## Why Conduct Community Drills?

**Good Opportunity to Coordinate with other Local, State and Federal Agencies**
**Demonstrates Desire for Strong Community Emergency Planning and Preparedness**
**Reveals Strengths and Weaknesses in Planning and Operations for all Agencies Involved**

**Many Emergency Management Agencies and Other Accredited Public Safety Agencies Must Conduct Community Exercises on a Yearly Basis.**

**Notes:**
To deal with the threats we face we need a system that enables Federal, State, local and tribal entities to call on each other to augment their own capabilities, to communicate easily, and to work together using a common approach.
The benefits are clear -  greater consistency of approach, better use of resources, and at the end of the day, a safer, more secure nation.
But to achieve these benefits, preparedness must be more fully coordinated, across organizational disciplines such as public health and emergency management, across jurisdictions, and across state lines.   And preparedness must reflect the full spectrum of operational missions - prevention, protection, response and recovery.

## "Fear Management"

## Review of Exercise Types

## Sample Community Drill:Columbia County, Georgia

**Sample Community Drill:****Columbia County, Georgia**

- To view the movie, click _[Sample Exercise](http://www.ercm.org/views/documents/HazMatExercise.mpg)_
- at http://www.ercm.org/views/documents/HazMatExercise.mpg

## Who Can Assist with this Task?

**Local Emergency Management Agency**
- Local Public Safety Agencies
- LEPC Coordination
- State and Local Homeland Security

**A Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) is a committee that is comprised of members from government, industry and elected officials who are involved in emergency planning activities in a community.  **

**Notes:**
An important impetus for this effort was Homeland Security Presidential Directive 8: National Preparedness,  which was issued in December 2003.
It calls for a collaborative effort to develop an all-hazards national preparedness goal.
The Goal was developed over a period of several months, with the advice of a State/Local/Tribal Working Group, and with national review and input from thousands of groups and individuals   (A fact sheet detailing stakeholder involvement is available).
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued the Interim National Preparedness Goal on March 31 of this year. 

## Who Should be Included in this Process?

** ****Law Enforcement (Police, Sheriff, DNR, State, Military Police, Tribal)**
**Fire Agencies (City, County, Correctional Facility)**
**Emergency Management**
**Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and Air Medical Units**
**911 Dispatch**
**Hospitals**
**Public Health**
**Volunteer Agencies (Red Cross, Salvation Army)**
**Local Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT)**
**Media, Parents, Student Drama Club, College or University students**** **

**Notes:**
Capabilities based planning helps answer 3 key questions for risk management and preparedness:
How prepared do we need to be?
How prepared are we?
How do we prioritize efforts to close the gap? 

## Developing a Community Wide Drill:Steps for Success

**Developing a community wide exercise normally evolves over a 4-month to 12-month period if conducted properly.**

## Exercise Pre-Planning

**Conduct a site survey of facilities and survey staff and/or students to capture their concerns.**
**Initiate pre-exercise meetings.**
**Establish scenario, goals and objectives (single agency and overall).**
**Choose the site or sites where exercise activities will occur.**
**Establish timelines for pre-exercise activities, meetings, tabletop and full-scale exercise.**
**Orient and train the staff (exercise process and the EOP).**
**Establish Controllers, Evaluators, Safety Officer and Players.**

**Notes:**
The common approach that is outlined in the Goal is called Capabilities Based Planning. 
The emphasis is on building core capabilities to manage a range of potential threats in a resource-constrained environment.
By focusing on the capabilities needed to prevent, protect against, respond to and recover from a range  of events, rather than on what's needed to address a specific threat, we're better able to maximize our resources.  
And capabilities based planning allows us to develop a common framework for planning that will apply across the country, with measurable outcomes being achieved through similar approaches.
Of course a consistent approach does not mean that one size fits all - how the animal health capability is dealt with in Iowa may be different - and more extensive -- than in New York City.
Here's what Capabilities Based Planning is not.
Capabilities-based planning is not a new concept - it has origins back to WW II and incorporates many facets of emergency planning approaches over the last several decades...
Capabilities-based planning is not a prescriptive resource list (it's not about counting fire trucks, fire fighters, and fire dogs); It is about setting and achieving risk-based levels of performance...
Capabilities-based planning is not an unfunded mandate; It is about re-orienting existing activities funded from federal programs to address the vision, capabilities, and priorities in the Goal...

## Exercise Terminology 

**Controller-Need 2**
**Director-Victims/Bad Guys**
**Evaluators-Agency, ICS and Overall**
**Safety Officer-Overall Exercise Safety**
**Observers-Not Involved**
**Participants or Players**

**Notes:**
The Goal includes:
A Vision for national preparedness,  
It also describes the process for achieving the vision, known as capabilities based planning.
And it provides a focus for the near term:  7 National Priorities.

In short, the Goal provides all of us with a common approach for building a national preparedness system, and a way to measure and assess preparedness.

## Threat/Hazard Analysis

**What should you *****prepare for?***
**What are your school or community**
***vulnerabilities or Hazards?***
**What are several of your *****past threats?***** **
**Which *****functions***** need to be tested in **
**the plan?**
**Which *****school or schools***** should **
**participate?**

## Sample Contemporary Scenarios

**Active Shooter**
**Bomb Threat or Explosion**
**Shelter in Place**
**Suspicious Item**
**Bus Incident**
**After School Incident **

**Focus:  ICS and NIMS**

## Exercise Process

**Each Agency Involved may want to Pre-Drill**
**A Tabletop Should Always be Conducted **
**Develop an Exercise Narrative (Script)**
**Establish Safety Measures**
**Exercise Perimeter Security**
**Safety Briefing prior to Initiation**
**Conduct a Player/Participant Briefing**

## Exercise Safety Procedures

**Conduct a Safety Briefing**
**Establish a Code Word to Cease the Exercise**
**Have "Non-Players" Identified**
**Establish a Check in Area**
**Mark Observer/Evaluator Areas**
**Vests for Observer/Evaluators**
**Cleared Weapons Identifier**
**Utilize "Exercise in Progress" Signs**
**Radios for Exercise Control Team**
**Provide the Media with Information**

**Notes:**
Capabilities based planning helps answer 3 key questions for risk management and preparedness:
How prepared do we need to be?
How prepared are we?
How do we prioritize efforts to close the gap? 

## Exercise Props and Special Effects

**Moulage**
**Realism-Creating Chaos**
**Old Clothes-Injuries**
**Contamination-Smoke**
**Blanks/Paintball/Air Soft**
**Explosions**
**Surprise Element**
**Parents/Media/Federal Agencies**

## Sample Best Practice:Mock Media Interview

- Conduct a mock media interview at the conclusion of the exercise to test the ability of your Incident Commanders, Public Information Officers and School Media Representatives to conduct a media interview during a "live" briefing about the incident.

**Notes:**
This is the vision statement -- a long sentence, but it includes several key ideas.
First, this isn't a federal effort.  It's a national effort and a shared responsibility.
At its core, the vision is to achieve and sustain risk-based target levels of capability that will prepare the Nation for a broad spectrum of threats.  
The approach is risk-based.  The levels of capability that are needed will vary based on threat, vulnerability, and potential impact.
And the Goal addresses the full range of operational missions:  prevention and protection as well as response and recovery.
The vision involves:
All stakeholders collectively engaged;
Achieving and sustaining;
Risk-based target levels of capability;
Across all mission areas;
To minimize the impact on lives, property, and the economy.
The vision provides the over-arching and driving thrust for our collective efforts.

## The After Action Process

**Immediate Debriefing**
**Evaluator and Participant Comments**
**Written Comments from Evaluators**
**Comprehensive Report**
**After Action Meeting (Weeks Later)**
**Improvement Ideas and Implementation**
**Training **

**Notes:**
Achieving national preparedness will be a collective effort.  And that's important.  The system's stakeholders are going to shape the system.
The Goal provides a consistent process - Capabilities-Based Planning -to prioritize needs and allocate resources based on risk.
It provides a better way to answer three fundamental questions of preparedness and risk management: "How prepared do we need to be?", "How prepared are we?", and "How do we prioritize efforts to close the gap?"
In other words, the Goal uses a capabilities-based planning framework to define where we are headed in national preparedness, to measure our progress towards achieving the goal, and to set priorities accordingly.

## Universal Challenges 

**Notification**
**Communication**
**Roles and Responsibilities**
**Training**
**Safety**

**Remember:  Teamwork Always Works Best!**

**Notes:**
The Goal includes:
A Vision for national preparedness,  
It also describes the process for achieving the vision, known as capabilities based planning.
And it provides a focus for the near term:  7 National Priorities.

In short, the Goal provides all of us with a common approach for building a national preparedness system, and a way to measure and assess preparedness.

## For More Information

**OHS-GEMA Exercise Development Guide: **
**    **_**www.ohs.state.ga.us**_** **
**Emergency Management Institute (FEMA) Online Training:                                         **** **
**   **_**[http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/](http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/)**_**   (IS-120)**
***Copy of Video: Columbia County Disaster Exercise*****:****                       **_**ptucker@columbiacountyga.gov**_** **
**Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program  (HSEEP):**
**   **_**[http://www.hseep.dhs.gov/](http://www.hseep.dhs.gov/)**__** **_
- _                       _

## Questions or Comments?

**Questions or Comments?**

## Thank You!

- Steven D. Harris
- School Safety Unit Manager
- OHS-GEMA
- (770)535-5419
- sharris@gema.state.ga.us