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The Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security (DPTMS), along with partners from Wisconsin Emergency Management, hosted the first Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) training course Oct. 15-17 at Fort McCoy in building 905.
During the three-day course, 20 students learned about HSEEP fundamentals, exercise program management, exercise design and development, exercise conduct, and exercise evaluation. The class culminated with a student-designed table-top exercise that allowed the students to demonstrate what they learned.
The purpose of this course was to provide training to people who are involved in the planning of the installation’s annual full-scale exercise, Vigilant Triad, on the core principles of HSEEP, its standardized methodology, and the resources available that are designed to assist in developing and maintaining an exercise program, said Emergency Management Specialist Timothy Werstein with DPTMS.
The HSEEP provides a set of guiding principles for exercise programs, as well as a common approach to exercise program management, design and development, conduct, evaluation, and improvement planning, Werstein said. Through the HSEEP Program, priorities aligned with core capability requirements are identified by stakeholder organizations and continually re-evaluated as part of an iterative preparedness planning process. These priorities guide the overall direction of a progressive exercise program, in which individual exercises are designed and developed that increase in complexity over time.
According to HSEEP objectives, exercise evaluation assesses the ability to meet objectives and capabilities by documenting strengths, areas for improvement, and core capability performance, and by monitoring corrective actions and outcomes through rolling summary reports and after-action report/improvement plans. These processes allow organizations to implement and monitor corrective actions that build and sustain capabilities, and maintain readiness.
Following completion of the course, all students were required to pass a final exam before being awarded their certificates of completion from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Plans and Operations Assistant Melissa Dubois with DPTMS, a student in the course, said the training gave her a very comprehensive understanding of the HSEEP cycle.
“As a member of the DPTMS Plans and Operations Section, I assist with planning and facilitating the Vigilant Triad exercise,” Dubois said. “This course taught us valuable content, and I enjoyed participating in the table-top exercises that we, the students, designed and facilitated. Each group was given the opportunity to participate in each other’s exercise as both the role of participant and evaluator. Garrison workforce members who attended, I believe, will excel in the next Vigilant Triad exercise.”
For Jaime Herrera, a program manager with Army Community Service of the Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation (DFMWR), the training gave him an opportunity to see what he referred to as the “tactical side” of emergency management.
“Being responsible for the installation’s Emergency Family Assistance Center (EFAC) and shelter, I think it is essential to see how organizations, such as the Directorate of Emergency Services, react to and develop solutions to varying problems,” Herrera said.
“Also, it was good to learn how that flow of information from responders through the Emergency Operations Center, then ultimately the commander and back down the chain of command is processed. With this newly acquired knowledge, I can better predict DFMWR’s need to set in motion our resources and capabilities. In emergency situations, time is always against you, so any knowledge I can gain to help my team bridge the gap between incident and response is gold to me.”
DPTMS Plans Operations and Security Division Chief David Cochran also attended the training.
“This course gave Fort McCoy the unique opportunity to provide training to all our Emergency Operations Center action officers and others interested in gaining experience in the development, execution, and evaluation of an exercise,” Cochran said. “Even if you have exercise experience, there is value in attending this training. This course specifically provides attendees firsthand experience in the current methodology of executing exercises from tabletop to full scale.”
Located in the heart of the upper Midwest, Fort McCoy is the only U.S. Army installation in Wisconsin.
The installation has provided support and facilities for the field and classroom training of more than 100,000 military personnel from all services each year since 1984.
Learn more about Fort McCoy online at https://home.army.mil/mccoy, on Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” and on Twitter by searching “usagmccoy.”
(Article prepared by the Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office and the Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security.)
| Date Taken: | 10.25.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 10.25.2019 14:16 |
| Story ID: | 349260 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 65 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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