Office of the Secretary

Office of State and Local Government 

Coordination & Preparedness 

Washington, DC 20531 

ODP Information Bulletin 

No. 150 February 17, 2005

TO: All State Administrative Agency Heads 

 All State Administrative Agency Points of Contact 

 All State Administrative Agency Exercise Points of Contact 

 All Urban Area Security Initiative Points of Contact 

 All State Homeland Security Directors 

 All State Emergency Management Directors 

 All Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program Newsletter Recipients 

 

FROM: Matt Mayer 

 Acting Executive Director 

 

SUBJECT: Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program Update 

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office for Domestic Preparedness (DHS/ODP), is 

pleased to announce the following updates and enhancements to the Homeland Security Exercise 

and Evaluation Program (HSEEP). This information is supplemental to the HSEEP Newsletter. 

 Direct Support Exercise Application and User Handbook 

• DHS/ODP has implemented a new application process for requesting assistance with 

exercise design, development, conduct and evaluation. Requests for direct exercise support 

must go through the State Administrative Agency (SAA) or a designated SAA Exercise Point 

of Contact (POC). Each application will be reviewed by a committee that will approve or 

disapprove the request based on established criteria. The Direct Support Exercise 

Application and User Handbook can be found on the ODP Secure Portal in the HSEEP 

Volumes folder. 

HSEEP Newsletter 

• The DHS/ODP Exercise Division has created a quarterly newsletter to communicate new 

HSEEP initiatives, volume updates, and upcoming activities. This quarter’s HSEEP 

Newsletter was disseminated to registered members of the ODP Secure Portal and is located 

in the portal’s public library in the HSEEP Newsletter folder. 

• Exercise Plan Workshop Packet

DHS/ODP is currently developing an Exercise Plan Workshop (EPW) packet that will 

provide the necessary information and documentation to assist states or urban areas in 

conducting annual EPWs, as required in the FY ‘05 grant guidance. The EPW packet will be 

finalized and available in March. 
• Beta-Tests 

Please submit all requests to participate in the IS-120 or HSEEP Toolkit beta-test by 

February 28, 2005. Additional details about both beta-tests will be disseminated in the 

coming months. 

• Universal Task List 

The Universal Task List (UTL) is now available to all members of the ODP Secure Portal. 

The UTL is stored in the public library of the portal in the Universal Task List folder. 

National Exercise Schedule 

• The FY ’05 Homeland Security Grant Program (i.e., State Homeland Security Program and 

Urban Area Security Initiative) and HSEEP Doctrine require that states and urban areas 

produce, and update annually, a Multi-year Exercise Plan and schedule. These schedules 

must be entered and updated in the ODP Secure Portal. Each state must designate a portal 

administrator that is responsible for entering scheduling data through the respective state’s 

portal organization. If a state does not have a portal administrator, the SAA should designate 

a POC responsible for entering the state’s multi-year exercise schedule. Urban areas should 

submit their respective exercise schedules through the SAA for review and approval. These 

schedules should be incorporated into the State’s multi-year exercise plan before being 

submitted through the ODP portal. To schedule exercises through the portal, individuals must 

be invited by the designated portal administrator to the state’s respective portal organization. 

All exercises that are scheduled through the portal are incorporated into the National 

Exercise Schedule (NEXS). NEXS reflects all national-level, federal, state and local 

exercises. It is important that states reflect both non ODP and ODP-sponsored exercises 

planned in their respective jurisdictions (i.e., REP, CSEPP, CDC, MMRS, etc.). 

If an individual needs access to the portal for HSEEP materials, NEXS, or other related documents, 

or would like to receive the quarterly newsletter, please send the request to hseep@dhs.gov or 

askcsid@dhs.gov and include the individuals name and email address. An invitation will be sent via 

email from the ODP Secure Portal. 

These enhancements to HSEEP are an effort within DHS/ODP to implement a comprehensive 

exercise and evaluation program that standardizes exercise methodology and builds self-sustaining 

programs. DHS/ODP encourages feedback on HSEEP and its associated programs and initiatives. 

Please email hseep@dhs.gov with any comments or suggestions. 

Attachments: Direct Support Exercise Application and User Handbook 

 HSEEP Newsletter