Department of Homeland Security 

National Level Exercise 2011- 

Federal Partner Participation 

OIG-12-01 October 2011 
Homeland

Security'

October 19, 2011

Office ofInspector General

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Washington, DC 20528

Preface

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office ofInspector General (OIG) was

established by the Homeland Security Act 0/2002 (Public Law 107-296) by amendment

to the Inspector General Act of1978. This is one of a series of audit, inspection, and

special reports prepared as part of our oversight responsibilities to promote economy,

efficiency, and effectiveness within the Department. .

The DHS OIG developed this report to provide information on federal participation in

National Level Exercise 2011, emphasizing the importance offederal Inspectors General

assessing their own agency's preparedness. This report is based on observations of

National Level Exercise 2011 and interviews with officials from FEMA's National

Exercise Division.

We trust this report will result in more effective, efficient, and economical operations.

We express our appreciation to all ofthose who contributed to the preparation ofthis

report. nf .~{ ~~

~~K. Edwards

Acting Inspector General
Executive Summary .............................................................................................................1
 

Background..........................................................................................................................2
 

National Level Exercise 2011..............................................................................................4
 

NLE 2011 Scenario and Exercise Play ..........................................................................4
 

NLE 2011 Objectives and Events..................................................................................6
 

NLE 2011 Participation and Initial Findings.................................................................9
 

Opportunities for OIG Involvement to Assess Response Capabilities ..............................12
 

Appendices 

Appendix A: Purpose, Scope and Methodology........................................................14
 

Appendix B: List of TOPOFF and National Level Exercises ...................................15
 

Appendix C: List of National Level Exercise 2011 Events .....................................16
 

Appendix D: List of National Level Exercise 2011 Participating Federal
 

Departments and Agencies ..................................................................17
 

Appendix E: Major Contributors to this Report........................................................19
 

Appendix F: Report Distribution ..............................................................................20
 

Abbreviations 

CAP Corrective Action Program 

CIGIE Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency 

DHS Department of Homeland Security 

ESF Emergency Support Function 

FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency 

HSEEP Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program 

HSPD-8 Homeland Security Presidential Directive-8 

LLIS Lessons Learned Information System 

NED National Exercise Division 

NEP National Exercise Program 

NLE National Level Exercise 

NRF National Response Framework 

NRCC National Response Coordination Center 

OIG Office of Inspector General 

RRCC Regional Response Coordination Center 

TOPOFF Top Officials 

PPD-8 Presidential Policy Directive-8 

Table of Contents/Abbreviations 
OIG
 

Department of Homeland Security 

Office of Inspector General 

Executive Summary 

National Level Exercise 2011 is a Tier 1 exercise that is White 

House directed, policy focused, and employs a U.S. governmentwide strategy. Tier 1 exercises are mandated by Congress and 

coordinated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The 

functional exercise component of National Level Exercise 2011 

began with a simulated earthquake along the New Madrid fault 

line. It included participants from various federal, state, and local 

agencies, as well as private sector and nonprofit organizations. 

The exercise lasted 4 days and included more than 4,000 federal 

employees from 43 departments and agencies. Exercises play a 

critical role in preparing our Nation for future disasters. 

National Level Exercise 2011 consisted of a 2-year planning, 

execution, and evaluation cycle that included various smaller 

discussion- and operations-based exercises leading up to the May 

16–19, 2011, functional exercises. The exercise had eight 

objectives developed by state and federal partners, seven of which 

were realized during the functional exercise; the final one was 

completed during a recovery exercise in September 2011. 

The exercise identified issues that hamper our Nation’s ability to 

respond to a catastrophic earthquake. To expedite improvements 

in disaster response, the Federal Emergency Management Agency 

compiled an initial findings report from the exercise reviews, 

identifying issues federal agencies need to address. Additionally, 

two federal agencies that were expected to participate in the 

functional exercise did not take part. 

This report provides information on federal participation in 

National Level Exercise 2011 to encourage federal Inspectors 

General to assess their own agency’s preparedness for disaster 

response. This report is not an evaluation of National Level 

Exercise 2011. In addition to this report, we will be releasing a 

review of National Level Exercise 2011 and the incorporation of 

lessons learned from previous exercises and disasters. 

National Level Exercise 2011 – Federal Partner Participation 


Page 1
 
Background 

National Level Exercises (NLEs) began in 2000 under the Top 

Officials (TOPOFF) exercise program. After the terrorist attacks 

of September 11, 2001, Congress passed the Homeland Security 

Act (P.L. 107-296), which formalized the TOPOFF exercise 

program. The legislation required the development of a continuous 

exercise cycle, which included using seminars, workshops, 

tabletop exercises, and command post exercises. These activities 

culminate in a biennial, national, functional exercise aimed at 

assessing the Nation’s capacity to prevent, prepare for, respond to, 

and recover from a large-scale disaster. Prior to NLE 2011, there 

were four TOPOFF exercises and two NLEs. Appendix B lists the 

dates, locations, and focus areas of previous TOPOFFs and NLEs. 

Homeland Security Presidential Directive-8 (HSPD-8) was the 

overarching federal directive that governed NLE 2011 activities. It 

required the head of each federal department and agency to take 

actions to support the national preparedness goal, including 

participating in exercises to the “extent permitted by law.” On 

March 30, 2011, President Obama released Presidential Policy 

Directive-8 (PPD-8), replacing HSPD-8 and requiring the creation 

of a new national preparedness goal, national preparedness system, 

and comprehensive campaign to build and sustain national 

preparedness. Future NLEs will be based on PPD-8 and the new 

National Exercise Program (NEP) base plan that has been 

developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency 

(FEMA). The NEP is overseen and managed by FEMA’s National 

Exercise Division (NED). 

National Response Framework and Annexes 

The National Response Framework (NRF) and corresponding 

Emergency Support Function (ESF) Annexes and Incident 

Annexes guide the Nation’s conduct of all-hazards disaster 

responses. The NRF is built upon a scalable, flexible, and 

adaptable coordinating structure to align key roles and 

responsibilities across the Nation, linking all levels of government, 

nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector. It includes 

specific authorities and best practices for managing incidents that 

range from the serious but purely local to large-scale terrorist 

attacks or catastrophic disasters. 

The ESF Annexes provide the structure for coordinating federal 

interagency support in response to an incident. They represent 15 

National Level Exercise 2011 – Federal Partner Participation 

Page 2 
functional groupings that are frequently used to provide federal 

support to states and federal-to-federal support, both for declared 

disasters and emergencies under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 

Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Stafford Act) (P.L. 93-288), 

as amended, and for non-Stafford Act incidents. 

The Catastrophic Incident Annex establishes protocols to preidentify and rapidly deploy key essential resources (e.g., medical 

teams, search and rescue teams, transportable shelters, medical and 

equipment caches) that are expected to be urgently needed to save 

lives and contain catastrophic incidents. FEMA recently 

completed a complementary National Disaster Recovery 

Framework to outline the roles and responsibilities for long-term 

recovery. 

Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program 

The Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program 

(HSEEP) is a capabilities and performance-based exercise 

program. The intent of HSEEP is to provide common exercise 

policy and program guidance capable of constituting a standard 

methodology for all exercises. HSEEP includes consistent 

terminology and tools that can be used by all exercise planners, 

regardless of the nature and composition of their sponsoring 

agency or organization. NLE 2011 followed HSEEP guidance1

 to 

ensure that all participants, from the federal, state, and local levels 

to the private sector, were using a consistent framework for 

conducting and evaluating the exercise. Figure 1 shows the 

HSEEP cycle of planning, executing, and evaluating exercises. 

Figure 1. Major Steps in the HSEEP Exercise Cycle 

Source: Department of Homeland Security 

1

 Guidance and other information from HSEEP can be found on the HSEEP website: https://hseep.dhs.gov/. 

National Level Exercise 2011 – Federal Partner Participation 

Page 3 
HSEEP is the standard methodology and tools to support the NEP. 

The NEP is a component of the national preparedness efforts 

aimed at validating plans, testing operational capabilities, and 

maintaining leadership. It examines ways to prevent, protect 

against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate natural and 

manmade disasters. It provides for the participation and 

collaboration of stakeholders from across the entire emergency 

management and homeland security enterprise and allows for 

coordinating exercise activities. The NEP provides an organized 

approach to set priorities for exercises, reflect those priorities in a 

multiyear 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. Under the 

current NEP, NLEs occur every year in the exercise cycle. 

Discussion-based exercises serve as building blocks throughout the 

year leading up to the operation-based exercise to test different 

capabilities. A revised NEP, effective 2013, will commence the 

planning process over a 2-year cycle, with an NLE capstone event 

occurring every 2 years. 

Lessons Learned Information System 

The Lessons Learned Information System2

 (LLIS), online since 

April 2004, is a secure network of information and frontline 

expertise on effective planning, training, and operational practices. 

Supported by FEMA’s NED, LLIS provides members with current 

homeland security and emergency management-related 

information. The LLIS library contains documents that cover all 

hazards, disciplines, and levels of government. The site has full 

plans, templates, after-action reports, articles, and guidelines for 

users. It also houses short summaries highlighting best practices 

and innovative ideas submitted by members who may work in 

other jurisdictions. 

National Level Exercise 2011 

NLE 2011 Scenario and Exercise Play 

On the morning of May 16, 2011, a catastrophic earthquake was 

simulated in the central United States region of the New Madrid 

Seismic Zone. The simulation included a 7.7 magnitude 

earthquake along the southern segment of the New Madrid Fault 

2

 The Lessons Learned Information System can be accessed at https://www.llis.dhs.gov. 

National Level Exercise 2011 – Federal Partner Participation 

Page 4 
that was closely followed by a 6.0 magnitude earthquake in the 

Wabash Valley Seismic Zone. Figure 2 illustrates the areas that 

would be affected if the simulated earthquakes had occurred. The 

simulated quakes affected eight states along the Mississippi River 

Valley across four FEMA regions.3 Federal, state, and local 

governments immediately began to respond to the incident using 

the NRF, the Federal Interagency Response Plan, Joint 

State/Regional Operations Plans, and other corresponding agency 

plans. 

Figure 2. Effects of New Madrid and Wabash Valley Seismic Events

 Source: Federal Emergency Management Agency 

For the federal government, the National Response Coordination 

Center (NRCC) in Washington, D.C., and Regional Response 

Coordination Centers (RRCCs) in the affected areas were activated 

to Level 1. Federal agencies with roles and responsibilities in 

disaster response and recovery staffed the NRCC and the RRCCs. 

They included the ESF coordinators and other agencies with key 

responsibilities. Play was conducted by simulating real-world 

activities such as developing, assigning, and fulfilling mission 

assignments and other computer-based tasks. Tactical exercises 

were conducted at the local level, such as medical response to a 

school collapse, patient movement by state National Guard units, 

and search and rescue operations. 

3

 Participants included the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, 

and Tennessee, as well as FEMA Regions IV, V, VI, and VII. 

National Level Exercise 2011 – Federal Partner Participation 

Page 5 
National Level Exercise 2011 – Federal Partner Participation 

Page 6 

Figure 3. Administrator Fugate at the National Response 

Coordination Center 

Source: Federal Emergency Management Agency 

By 12:30 p.m., the day of the simulated earthquake, a video 

teleconference hosted by FEMA and headed by DHS Secretary 

Janet Napolitano and FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate provided 

an initial look at the damage, the initial steps being taken to 

respond, and what steps needed to be taken for lifesaving and lifesustaining efforts. Over the following 4 days, officials carried out 

their assigned duties utilizing 12-hour shifts to respond 24 hours a 

day. Exercise play was driven by exercise controllers at the Master 

Control Cell. Controllers supplied approximately 13,000 injects 

from the Master Scenario Events List into the exercise. These 

injects drove exercise play by providing realistic disaster-related 

information for the players. Additionally, these injects simulated 

the play of the states and FEMA region that were unable to 

participate in the exercise owing to ongoing real-world disasters. 

NLE 2011 Objectives and Events 

NLE 2011 Objectives 

NLE 2011 was based on a set of overarching objectives created 

and agreed upon by the participating federal agencies and states to 

test capabilities necessary to respond to such a disaster. Six 

objectives were provided by the states, one by the Department of 

Health and Human Services, and the final objective was chosen by 
 

FEMA Administrator Fugate. Table 1 lists the eight overarching 

NLE 2011 objectives. Additionally, each participating federal 

department and agency and the states created their own specific 

exercise objectives. These combined objectives drove the tasks 

completed during exercise play based on plans, policies, and 

procedures developed prior to the functional exercise. 

Table 1. NLE 2011 Exercise Objectives 

Objective Purpose 

Communications Demonstrate the ability to maintain continuous flow of 

critical information. 

Incident Management/Emergency 

Operations Center Management 

Demonstrate the ability to effectively manage a 

catastrophic earthquake incident through multiagency 

unified coordination. 

Citizen Evacuation and Shelter in Place 

Demonstrate the ability to ensure that affected and at-risk 

populations are safely sheltered in place or evacuated to 

safe refuge areas. 

Mass Care 

Demonstrate the ability to provide mass care services 

(sheltering, feeding, and bulk distribution) for the affected 

populations. 

Critical Resource Distribution and 

Logistics 

Demonstrate the ability to identify, inventory, dispatch, 

mobilize, transport, recover, demobilize, track, and record 

available resources throughout all incident phases. 

Emergency Public Information and 

Warning 

Demonstrate the ability of intergovernmental agencies 

and the private sector to execute an effective public 

official and national media strategy providing 

coordinated, prompt, and reliable information that is 

updated regularly. 

Medical Surge 

Demonstrate the ability to rapidly expand health care 

resources to provide medical personnel, support functions, 

physical space, and logistics support to deliver triage, 

treatment, and medical care to the affected populations. 

Recovery 

Demonstrate the ability to implement recovery processes 

after a catastrophic earthquake, including the 

establishment of recovery priorities, the assessment of 

economic impact, and the coordination and 

implementation of recovery and relief plans. 

Source: Federal Emergency Management Agency 

According to FEMA officials, seven of the eight exercise 

objectives were met during the May 2011 functional exercise. The 

final objective (recovery) was addressed during the September 

2011 portion of the exercise. The overall purpose of the exercise, 

according to Administrator Fugate, was to “break the system,” 

which occurred. This marks a difference from previous exercises, 

which went only to the “breaking point,” then ended. 

National Level Exercise 2011 – Federal Partner Participation 

Page 7 
National Level Exercise 2011 – Federal Partner Participation 

Page 8 

According to a FEMA official, “break the system” means to push 

response systems to the point that participants can identify where 

system failure occurs. This official also said that conducting 

exercises like NLE 2011, with its surge of activity, is beneficial 

since it allows participants to anticipate what part of the response 

spectrum would not be able to sustain itself during such a response, 

and address potential gaps immediately. For example, during the 

functional phase of NLE 2011, officials identified certain portions 

of the resource tracking and assignment process that might not be 

able to process all requests that would be necessary to support 

Administrator Fugate’s strategy to “push” forward assets. As a 

result, FEMA can now examine software needs, personnel training, 

and other aspects of resource tracking to find ways to make the 

system more flexible and responsive in a future disaster. 

In addition to the eight overarching objectives, Secretary 

Napolitano issued a National Level Exercise 2011 Directive that 

added four leadership objectives: 

Validate national, joint, regional, and state operations planning 

objectives and courses of action; 

Confirm the overarching, intergovernmental Unified Area 

Command/coordination, control, and communications unified 

decision making and resource strategy; 

Test and evaluate the ability of senior-level intergovernmental 

officials to collaborate within the New Madrid Seismic Zone 

incident management structure; and 

Identify a comprehensive national earthquake 

resource/capability inventory for the prioritization and 

adjudication by unified decision makers to determine the point 

where “all available resources are deployed, yet many needs 

remain unmet.” 

A FEMA official said that Secretary Napolitano’s objectives were 

met. However, the objectives of some participating jurisdictions 

and agencies were not fully realized because of real-world events. 

NLE 2011 Events 

As mentioned above, the NLE process is a 2- year cycle. Key 

events that were held before the May 2011 functional exercise 

included the Resource Allocation Workshop and a National 

Tabletop Exercise. The workshop, held November 30 through 

December 3, 2010, included officials from all eight participating 
states determining what resources their states possessed and what 

additional resources they would require. Federal agency 

representatives were present to help fulfill those needs, as well as 

provide information on what additional resources were available to 

the states from the federal government. The workshop was not 

part of the original exercise plan; however, future exercises will 

include Resource Allocation Workshops. 

A Tabletop Exercise and Rehearsal of Concept drill was conducted 

on April 13, 2011. This Tabletop was originally slated for only 30 

people or so; however, it was expanded and eventually included 

close to 350 officials from all eight participating states, the 

Emergency Support Function Leadership Group, and the Domestic 

Readiness Group. At the Tabletop, the group discussed the 

simulated scenario and assessed plans, policies, and procedures. 

According to FEMA officials, Tabletop participants successfully 

addressed the policy issues and gaps in planning that would have 

occurred had it been an incident rather than a practice run. 

In July, a series of after-action conferences were held. Following 

the after-action conferences, the Corrective Action Process is 

initiated, assigning agencies responsibility for addressing problems 

identified. While various departments and agencies are 

responsible for the development and implementation of the 

corrective actions, FEMA will be responsible for tracking overall 

progress on the corrective actions utilizing the Corrective Action 

Program (CAP) and reporting to the National Security Staff on the 

state of corrective action plans and implementation of fixes. 

For the first time, a recovery seminar was held in conjunction with 

NLE 2011. This seminar occurred in September and addressed 

recovery processes and the draft National Disaster Recovery 

Framework. Appendix C provides a complete list of NLE 2011 

events. 

NLE 2011 Participation and Initial Findings 

DHS OIG conducted observations at the NRCC and the Master 

Control Cell during NLE 2011. Based on our observations and 

interviews with FEMA officials, we concluded that real-world 

events severely affected the level of play and the extent of 

participation, as well as where exercise activities were held. 

According to FEMA officials, two federal agencies did not fulfill 

their responsibilities during functional exercise activities. 

National Level Exercise 2011 – Federal Partner Participation 

Page 9 
National Level Exercise 2011 – Federal Partner Participation 

Page 10 

Additionally, mission-critical issues were identified based on 

initial feedback from NLE 2011 participants. 

Effect of Real-World Events on NLE 2011 Play 

The weeks leading up to NLE 2011 were a period of high disaster 

activity, with tornadoes and flooding affecting most of the states 

and all of the FEMA regions participating in the exercise. As a 

result, the extent of the exercise had to be altered. When asked 

about the effect of real-world events on NLE 2011, a FEMA 

official said it was “immeasurable.” 

Both OIG staff and FEMA officials observed the implications of 

the real-world events. They markedly affected level of play and 

participation of agencies at all levels of government. Four states 

and one FEMA region did not participate; their involvement had to 

be simulated. FEMA officials said that the effect of not playing 

was mitigated by the highly successful Resource Allocation 

Workshop. These states will still participate in the recovery 

exercise and the after-action conferences, further mitigating the 

effects. 

Additionally, rather than using the NRCC, FEMA had to play the 

exercise from the National Exercise Simulation Center and other 

rooms in FEMA headquarters. The greater impact on exercise play 

involved using employees who were not originally scheduled to 

participate in exercise activities, since their counterparts had to 

address real-world events. These employees were less trained and 

experienced, and some were not trained on exercise software. On 

occasion, they had to consult their counterparts who were working 

real-world events for advice and assistance. Furthermore, some 

employees were attempting to work both real-world events and the 

exercise. 

Real-world events also led FEMA to decrease the scope of play. 

The exercise was originally planned to involve Level 1 (full) 

activation of the NRCC 24/7; however, the decision was made to 

reduce the second shift (8 p.m. to 8 a.m.) to a Level 3 activation. 

This meant fewer staff at the NRCC at night, leading to poor 

transitions between shifts. 
Participation Level 

Under the NEP, all federal departments and agencies with disaster 

preparedness, response, and recovery responsibilities are expected 

to participate in planning, executing, and evaluating the NLEs. For 

NLE 2011, more than 4,000 individuals from 43 federal agencies 

participated in the functional exercise. For example, the 

Departments of Defense and Transportation coordinated and 

provided transportation needs such as airlift capabilities, while the 

Department of Commerce and its agencies provided geospatial 

information, weather forecasts, and warnings, and managed the 

radio frequency spectrum so responders could communicate. 

Appendix D lists the federal agencies and departments that 

participated in NLE 2011. 

Two federal agencies did not participate in the functional exercise 

or simulate their activities, despite the fact that the NEP requires 

that agencies do one or the other for Tier 1 exercises. FEMA 

officials were unsure whether this was due to real-world events or 

not. These two agencies did participate in planning efforts and are 

expected to participate in the recovery exercise. 

Beyond the guidance provided in HSPD-8, there is no requirement 

on the extent to which agencies must participate in an NLE. As a 

result, the level of participation by different federal departments 

and agencies varied greatly. The amount of resources devoted to 

exercises is allocated based on priorities of each department and 

agency. FEMA officials said that under the new NEP that will 

govern exercises for 2013–2018, there will be stronger 

accountability measures for the Domestic Readiness Group and the 

National Security Staff to ensure participation by federal 

departments and agencies. 

Initial Findings 

On May 19, immediately after the end of the exercise, and again on 

May 20, a series of hotwashes (exercise reviews) were conducted 

to get immediate feedback from participants. This was in response 

to a National Security Staff request for FEMA to immediately 

identify issues that federal agencies need to address. FEMA asked 

that all participating states, regions, and federal departments and 

agencies identify three issues, either during the hotwashes or in a 

formal submission process after the exercise. FEMA then 

consolidated these into a list of unique issues that were sent to the 

participating federal agencies for comment. The findings ranged 

National Level Exercise 2011 – Federal Partner Participation 

Page 11 
from accepting and distributing aid from international partners to 

getting fuel to areas affected by the disaster. FEMA will continue 

to work with federal, state, and local partners to further identify 

after-actions. 

The findings were then assigned to responsible departments and 

agencies. Support departments and agencies are responsible for 

helping to address each of the findings. The responses will also be 

given to the Domestic Readiness Group. As of September 2011, 

agencies have not provided recommendations for resolving 

findings to the National Security Staff. FEMA officials said that 

this marks the first time such outstanding issues have been 

identified and quickly addressed, and this is a major step forward 

for the exercise process. The report on these findings is For 

Official Use Only; however, Inspectors General may obtain a copy 

of the report from FEMA’s NED. 

Opportunities for OIG Involvement to Assess Response Capabilities 

In August 2010, the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity 

and Efficiency (CIGIE) published an Inspection Guide, An IG’s 

Guide for Assessing Federal Response Capabilities.4 This guide 

presents a framework for how OIGs can assess their department’s 

or agency’s preparedness to carry out roles and responsibilities 

under the NRF and its annexes. 

There are opportunities for federal OIGs to evaluate their 

department’s or agency’s involvement in the National Level 

Exercise program. For NLE 2011, a Recovery Exercise occurred 

in September 2011, and other exercise evaluation activities remain. 

Furthermore, Inspectors General can ensure that their department 

or agency addresses issues identified during after-action meetings 

that were assigned to them in the CAP. 

Federal departments and agencies should participate as required in 

NEP planning, execution, and evaluation activities. Inspectors 

General offices may want to retroactively review their 

department’s or agency’s level of NLE 2011 participation and the 

resources provided for this effort. Additionally, planning for NLE 

2012 – Cybersecurity has already begun, and every federal 

department and agency will have a role in the exercise. Inspectors 

General can take this opportunity to review their department’s or 

agency’s Continuity of Operations and Continuity of Government 

4

 The guide can be found on the CIGIE website at www.ignet.gov. 

National Level Exercise 2011 – Federal Partner Participation 

Page 12 
plans and execution of those plans as part of NLE 2012. Increased 

participation by all partners will improve the NEP and our Nation’s 

preparedness for disasters. 

A key component of any disaster response is the successful 

execution of pre-scripted and other mission assignments to fulfill 

resource needs. This area has consistently been identified during 

exercises and disaster responses as an opportunity for additional 

improvements. Inspectors General should consider reviewing their 

department’s or agency’s mission assignments as part of the NLE 

to determine whether there are opportunities for improvement and 

what actions their department or agency has taken to address them. 

Finally, the National Disaster Recovery Framework was recently 

issued; however, it has not been tested in an exercise or used 

during a disaster. Inspectors General may want to consider 

reviewing their department’s or agency’s roles and responsibilities 

using a framework similar to the Inspection Guide An IG’s Guide 

for Assessing Federal Response Capabilities. 

National Level Exercise 2011 – Federal Partner Participation 


Page 13
 
Appendix A 

Purpose, Scope, and Methodology 

The objective of this review was to provide a descriptive report to 

the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency 

on federal participation in National Level Exercise 2011, 

emphasizing the importance of assessing every department’s or 

agency’s preparedness. To accomplish our objective, we reviewed 

and analyzed the Federal Interagency Response Plan – Earthquake 

2011, the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program, 

the Mission Critical Findings report, after-action and hotwash 

meeting reports, and other applicable documents. 

During the review, we interviewed officials from FEMA’s 

National Exercise Division. We conducted these interviews at 

FEMA headquarters in Washington, D.C. We also observed the 

functional exercise at the National Exercise Simulation Center at 

FEMA headquarters in Washington, D.C., and at the Master 

Control Cell in Dulles, Virginia. 

We acknowledge the cooperation and courtesies extended to our 

team during this review. We conducted this review between May 

and July 2011 under the authority of the Inspector General Act of 

1978, as amended, and according to the Quality Standards for 

Inspections issued by the Council of the Inspectors General on 

Integrity and Efficiency. 

National Level Exercise 2011 – Federal Partner Participation 

Page 14 
Appendix B 

List of TOPOFF and National Level Exercises 

Date Locations Focus 

TOPOFF-1: May 2000 Portsmouth, NH 

Denver, CO 

No-notice terrorist release 

of chemical and biological 

weapons 

TOPOFF-2: May 2003 Seattle, WA 

Chicago, IL 

Radiological dispersion 

device detonation 

TOPOFF-3: April 2005 

New London, CT 

Union and Middlesex 

Counties, NJ 

No-notice terrorist release 

of chemical and biological 

weapons 

TOPOFF-4: October 2007 

Portland, OR 

Phoenix, AZ 

Guam 

Radiological dispersion 

device detonations 

NLE-2009: July 2009 Southwest states Terrorism Prevention and 

Protection 

NLE-2010: May 2010 Indianapolis, IN Improvised nuclear device 

NLE-2011: May 2011 Midwest states Catastrophic earthquakes 

NLE-2012: April-July 2012 

(projected) Washington, DC Cyber attack 

Source: Federal Emergency Management Agency 

National Level Exercise 2011 – Federal Partner Participation 

Page 15 
Appendix C 

List of National Level Exercises 2011 Events 

Event Date 

National Plans Seminar September 23, 2010 

Resource Allocation Workshop November 30–December 3, 2010 

Senior Official Exercise: 1-11 

Transportation February 23, 2011 

National Tabletop Exercise April 13, 2011 

NLE 2011 Functional Exercise May 16–19, 2011 

Hotwashes; States’ Recovery Discussions May 20, 2011 

State/Regional Recovery 

Workshops/Exercises June–July 2011 

National Recovery Seminar July 19, 2011 

National After Action Conferences July 20–21, 2011 

National Lessons Learned Conference September 13–15, 2011 

National Recovery Tabletop Exercises September 27–29, 2011 

Senior Official Exercise: Recovery September/October 2011 

Source: Federal Emergency Management Agency 

National Level Exercise 2011 – Federal Partner Participation 

Page 16 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appendix D 

List of National Level Exercise 2011 Participating Federal Departments and 

Agencies 

ATF Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives 

CDC Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

DHS Department of Homeland Security 

DOC Department of Commerce 

DOD Department of Defense

 DOE Department of Energy 

DOI Department of the Interior 

DOJ Department of Justice 

DOL Department of Labor 

DOS Department of State 

DOT Department of Transportation 

GSA General Services Administration 

ED Department of Education 

EDA Economic Development Administration 

EPA Environmental Protection Agency 

FAA Federal Aviation Administration 

FBI Federal Bureau of Investigation 

FCC Federal Communications Commission 

FDA Food and Drug Administration 

FERC Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 

FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration 

FRA Federal Railroad Administration 

IRS Internal Revenue Service 

HHS Department of Health and Human Services 

HUD Department of Housing and Urban Development 

NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration 

USDA Department of Agriculture 

NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

NPS National Park Service 

NRC Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

NTIA National Telecommunications and Information Administration 

OMB Office of Management and Budget 

OPA Office of Public Affairs 

OPM Office of Personnel Management 

OSHA Occupational Safety and Health Administration 

SBA Small Business Administration 

SEC Securities and Exchange Commission 

SSA Social Security Administration 

TREAS Department of Treasury 

TVA Tennessee Valley Authority 

USACE United States Army Corps of Engineers 

USAID United States Agency for International Development 

USMS United States Marshals Service 

USPS United States Postal Service 

National Level Exercise 2011 – Federal Partner Participation 

Page 17 
 

Appendix D 

List of National Level Exercise 2011 Participating Federal Departments and 

Agencies 

VA Department of Veterans Affairs 

National Level Exercise 2011 – Federal Partner Participation 


Page 18
 
Appendix E 

Major Contributors to this Report 

 Amy Hall, Director 

Adrian Dupree, Audit Manager 

Kenneth Valrance, Auditor 

Douglas Campbell, Program Analyst 

National Level Exercise 2011 – Federal Partner Participation 

Page 19
Appendix F 

Report Distribution 

Department of Homeland Security 

Secretary 

Deputy Secretary 

Chief of Staff 

Deputy Chief of Staff 

General Counsel 

Executive Secretariat 

Director, GAO/OIG Liaison Office 

Assistant Secretary for Office of Policy 

Assistant Secretary for Office of Public Affairs 

Assistant Secretary for Office of Legislative Affairs 

Federal Emergency Management Agency 

Administrator 

Deputy Administrator 

FEMA GAO/OIG Liaison (Project Code 11-129-EMO-FEMA) 

Office of Management and Budget 

Chief, Homeland Security Branch 

DHS OIG Budget Examiner 

Congress 

Congressional Oversight and Appropriations Committees, as 

appropriate 

National Level Exercise 2011 – Federal Partner Participation 


Page 20
 
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND COPIES 

To obtain additional copies of this report, please call the Office of Inspector General 

(OIG) at (202) 254-4100, fax your request to (202) 254-4305, or visit the OIG web sites 

at www.dhs.gov/oig or www.oig.dhs.gov. You may also contact our Office of Public 

Affairs at DHS-OIG.OfficePublicAffairs@dhs.gov. 

OIG HOTLINE 

To report alleged fraud, waste, abuse, mismanagement, or any other kind of criminal or 

noncriminal misconduct relative to department programs or operations: 

• Call our Hotline at 1-800-323-8603; 

• Fax the complaint directly to us at (202) 254-4292; 

• E-mail us at DHSOIGHOTLINE@dhs.gov; or 

• Write to us at: 

DHS Office of Inspector General 

Attention: Office of Investigations - Hotline, 

245 Murray Drive SW, Building 410 

Washington, DC 20528. 

The OIG seeks to protect the identity of each writer and caller.