The U.S. Department of Homeland Security will conduct the largest and most comprehensive counter-terrorism exercise to date from October 15-19, 2007 in Guam, Arizona and Oregon. Top Officials 4 (TOPOFF 4) is the fourth of a series of congressionally-mandated exercises and will feature thousands of federal, state, territorial, and local officials, as well as the governments of Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
As in a real-world response, agencies and organizations will deploy staff into the field and will face realistic incident –specific challenges, including the allocation of limited response resources and exercise actions needed to effectively manage conditions as they emerge. Planning and preparation for the exercise will also help strengthen working relationships between departments and agencies that are critical to successful prevention and response in real emergencies.
TOPOFF 4 will involve more than 15,000 participants in Guam, Arizona, and Oregon from all levels of government, international partners and the private sector in a full-scale, simulated response to radiological dispersal device attacks. For the first time, a U.S. Territory, Guam, will participate in the TOPOFF series, providing an opportunity to practice coordinated prevention and response activities between the continental U.S. and a U.S. territory. About 1,000 people will be participating in the Guam TOPOFF event. Between 200-250 of those participants are from off-island.
At the Federal level, exercise play will be marked by the coordinated participation of multiple agencies and departments. For example, in addition to response, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will be exercising prevention through its Terrorism Prevention Exercise Program (TPEP).
In the weeks leading up to the full-scale exercise, law enforcement and intelligence community players will work the information gathering, intelligence analysis, and information-sharing capabilities that help tothwart terrorist activities. In addition, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will mobilize around emerging public health issues related to a radiological emergency, and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) will run concurrent exercises to address global terror threats.
To reach the over-arching goal and objectives to enhance interagency coordinator, planning and preparedness, TOPOFF 4 will focus on five key areas:
1. Prevention: To test the handling and flow of operational and time-critical intelligence between agencies to prevent a terrorist attack.
2. Intelligence/Investigation: To test the handling and flow of operational and time-critical intelligence between agencies prior to, and in response to, a linked terrorist incident.
3. Incident management: To test the full range of existing procedures for domestic incident management of a terrorist weapon of mass destruction event and to improve the top officials’ capabilities to respond consistent with the National Response Plan and the National Incident Management System.
4. Public Information: To practice the strategic coordination of a terrorist weapon of mass destruction event or incident of national significance.
5. Evaluation: To identify lessons learned and promote best practices.
TOPOFF 4 is based on National Planning Scenario 11 (NPS-1 1). The scenario begins as terrorist, who have been planning attacks in Oregon, Arizona, and Guam, successfully bring radioactive material into the United States. The first of three coordinated attacks occurs in Guam, with the simulated detonation of a Radiological Dispersal Device (RDD), or “dirty bomb,” causing casualties and wide-spread contamination in a populous area near a power plant. Similar attacks occur in the hours that follow in Portland and Phoenix.
An RDD is not the same as a nuclear attack. It is a conventional explosive that, upon detonation, there are severe rescue, health, and long-term decontamination concerns associated with an RDD. Real weapons will not be used in the scenario, but the response will be mounted as if they had been.
