If  an exercise like this gets just a small percentage of the 'leaders' thinking in the right direction, it will be a miracle.   And ultimately, beneficial.

You can't even get a Federal agency to 'practice' something like this in anything approaching 'reality mode'.   All the 'important people' have something else that really has to be done instead.  I'm confident that this exercise is no different.

At least the local Army Guard Battalion went to New Orleans so there is some institutional memory of that particular disaster, even if just old anecdotes.  

Not doing anything is a bad choice, IMO, however, and that sounds like your recommendation.