Terrorism Drill on April 4th
We all know about the wargames on 9/11 that left the U.S. defenseless. Look what's happening in New Jersey next week. If anything happens, lets all record the news and nail these fuckers to the wall if they pull this stunt again.
From here: http://mensnewsdaily.com/blog/kouri/...for-april.html
Friday, March 18, 2005
TOPOFF 3 Terrorism Drill Set for April
United States, Canada, United Kingdom to Respond to Simulated Attacks
by Jim Kouri, CPP
When a simulated plague is unleashed by terrorists in central New Jersey and simulated toxic chemicals are released simultaneously in Connecticut on April 4, government officials in the Northeast will get an unprecedented chance to test their abilities to respond to a large-scale terrorist attack.
TOPOFF, an abbreviation for Top Officials, is a two-year cycle of seminars, planning events and exercises mandated by the US Congress and designed to strengthen the nation's capacity to prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from terrorist attacks involving weapons of mass destruction. TOPOFF 3, as the name implies is the third in the biennial TOPOFF series.
The two-year TOPOFF 3 cycle will culminate internationally in a seven-day exercise in April 2005 involving the federal government, New Jersey, Connecticut, the United Kingdom and Canada. In New Jersey, a five-day full-scale exercise will be initiated on April 4, and it will focus on a bioterror event, with the core of the action taking place in Union and Middlesex counties.
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.
According to the New Jersey Domestic Security Preparedness Task Force officials, as counties prepare and plan for the TOPOFF 3 exercise, state officials continue to prepare by evaluating policies and procedures, conducting tabletop exercises and training staff.
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.
Participants in New Jersey and Connecticut will include top officials, such as governors, senior executives of numerous state agencies, elected county and municipal officials, as well as first responders, representatives of law enforcement, public health and emergency medical services personnel.
TOPOFF 3 Overview
TOPOFF 3 is scheduled to include various operations simultaneously including:
* Simulated terrorist attacks in New Jersey and Connecticut.
* Seventy-three hours of scheduled "play" in New Jersey, the site of a simulated terrorist-initiated plague.
* All New Jersey and Connecticut acute care hospitals will participate.
* Thousands of volunteer "victims."
* Twenty-plus participating state departments and agencies.
* Twenty-plus participating federal departments and agencies.
* Over 200 private sector participants nationwide.
* Participation by authorities in Canada and United Kingdom.
In addition, the US Department of Defense will conduct a simultaneous exercise that will integrate with TOPOFF 3.
Previous TOPOFF exercises have allowed the Federal government to test new response plans with State, local, and international partners. TOPOFF 2 was the first exercise of the newly formed DHS, the first exercise of the Principal Federal Official (this concept was subsequently incorporated into the National Response Plan), and the first test of an elevation of the National Threat Condition to RED.
The lessons from previous TOPOFF exercises have also helped shape the national preparedness strategy, which calls for development of an integrated Federal-state-local capability of prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery for extreme events, including terrorism.
Jim Kouri, CPP is currently fifth vice-president of the National Association of Chiefs of Police. He's former chief at a New York City housing project in Washington Heights nicknamed "Crack City" by reporters covering the drug war in the 1980s. In addition, he served as director of public safety at a New Jersey university. He's also served on the National Drug Task Force and trained police and security officers throughout the country. He writes for many police and crime magazines including Chief of Police, Police Times, The Narc Officer, Campus Law Enforcement Journal, and others. He's appeared as on-air commentator for over 100 TV and radio news and talk shows including Oprah, McLaughlin Report, CNN Headline News, MTV, Fox News, etc. His book Assume The Position is available at Amazon.Com, Booksamillion.com, and can be ordered at local bookstores.
