Press Releases
Fact Sheet: TOPOFF 3 Exercising National Preparedness
Top Officials 3 (TOPOFF 3) is the most comprehensive terrorism response
exercise ever conducted in the United States. Sponsored by the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Office of State and Local Government
Coordination and Preparedness (SLGCP), TOPOFF 3 is the third exercise in the
TOPOFF Exercise Series, a congressionally mandated exercise program. The
exercise is designed to strengthen the nation's capacity to prevent, protect
against, respond to, and recover from terrorist attacks involving weapons of
mass destruction (WMDs). Joining the Department of Homeland Security and
other federal agencies in this important effort are the states of
Connecticut and New Jersey, as well as two international partners, the
United Kingdom and Canada. These countries will conduct simultaneous,
related exercises.
A Weeklong Full-Scale Exercise
The TOPOFF 3 Full-Scale Exercise (T3 FSE), which will take place from April
4-8, 2005, is the culmination of a two-year cycle of seminars, planning
events, and exercises. The exercise will involve more than 10,000
participants representing more than 200 federal, state, local, tribal,
private sector, and international agencies and organizations, as well as
volunteer groups.
In the United States, participants will respond to attacks in Connecticut
and New Jersey. Simulated terrorist incidents will originate in New London,
Connecticut (chemical incident) and Union and Middlesex Counties in New
Jersey (biological incident). Real weapons will not be used, yet the
response will be mounted as if they had been. Numerous federal departments
and agencies will actively participate, providing a first opportunity to
validate the recently released National Response Plan, and to exercise
protocols of the National Incident Management System. As the full
international dimensions of the simulated crisis are revealed, related
exercises will take place in the United Kingdom (ATLANTIC BLUE) and Canada
(TRIPLE PLAY). Planners from all three countries have collaborated in the
exercise design to achieve shared objectives...
Meeting Crucial Preparedness Objectives
To meet these shared objectives, the T3 FSE focuses on four critical areas:
* Incident management: To test the full range of existing procedures
for domestic incident management of a terrorist event and improve, through
practice, top officials' capabilities in affected countries to respond in
partnership.
* Intelligence/investigation: To test the handling and flow of
operational and time-critical intelligence.
* Public information: To practice strategic coordination of media
relations and public information issues in response to linked terrorist
incidents.
* Evaluation: To identify lessons learned and promote best practices.
Challenging the Entire Homeland Security System
Exercises such as TOPOFF are an important component of national
preparedness, helping to build an integrated federal, state, local, tribal,
and private sector capability to prevent terrorist attacks on the homeland,
and rapidly and effectively respond to and recover from any terrorist attack
or major disaster that does occur.
The full-scale exercise offers agencies and jurisdictions a way to test
their plans and skills in a real-time, realistic environment and to gain the
in-depth knowledge that only experience can provide. Participants will also
exercise intelligence gathering, which is critical to preventing terrorist
attacks.
Lessons learned from the exercise will provide valuable insights to guide
future planning for securing the nation against terrorist events.
The Scenario
T3 FSE begins as terrorists, planning attacks in the New York and Boston
metropolitan areas, suspect their plans are compromised. They react by
accelerating their original schedule, deploying a vehicle-based biological
agent dispersal device in New Jersey. Seriously ill patients begin to
overwhelm local hospitals. As the scenario unfolds, every county in New
Jersey will need a Point of Dispensing (POD) for antibiotics. Meanwhile, the
chemical weapon attack originally planned for Boston is also accelerated and
executed in New London, Connecticut, augmented with a vehicle-based
improvised explosive device.
Issues to be addressed include public health and safety, contamination,
criminal investigation, and patient care. As the events continue, federal
agencies implement the National Response Plan, and international aspects of
play emerge.
T3: Building From Past TOPOFF Exercises and the Events of September 11, 2001
The TOPOFF 3 Full-Scale Exercise extends the learning derived from earlier
TOPOFF exercises and 9-11 in several ways:
* Increases international and private sector participation in
prevention and investigation.
* Emphasizes terrorism prevention - an opportunity to piece together
an intelligence puzzle and "capture" the enemy before the attack occurs.
* Emphasizes risk communication and public information - participants
will explore approaches to public communications in times of high public
anxiety and confusion.
* Focuses on long-term recovery and remediation issues.
Mar. 28, 2005
Please be advised that a full-scale national terrorism "Play" exercise will take place on April 4 through April 8, 2005. The title of this "Play" exercise is Top-Off 3.
You might see things or hear reports which, under other circumstances, cause you alarm. Remember the events which will occur on the foregoing dates are part of a planned exercise.
