Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Michael Chertoff is not getting a lot of sleep this week.
In addition to his regular duties, he is also a participant in a large-scale terrorism response exercise and has to react to simulated chemical and biological attacks.
The exercise, called Top Officials 3 (TOPOFF 3), involves 12,000 participants from three countries and is the largest such exercise ever conducted in the US. It simulates a biological attack in New Jersey and a chemical attack in Connecticut.
In addition to nearly 300 US agencies, officials from Canada and UK keep participants informed of the latest developments through a secure link.
Real newspapers and broadcasters were not given details about the simulated emergency to avoid tipping off participants.
The exercise is intended to test reactions in an environment that is as realistic as possible. To simulate a car bomb site in Connecticut, piles of rubble and cars were carefully arranged and scores of volunteers played victims.
Makeup specialists made wounds appear realistic and "victims" were given instructions on how to behave. For example, victims of the biological and chemical agents are carrying prompter cards that describe their symptoms so they know how to answer the questions of medical personnel.
"Players don't know what will happen," said DHS spokesman Marc Short.
The simulation is so realistic that some "patient" volunteers are playing the role of people who think they have the disease, and show up at medical facilities demanding treatment for symptoms they have heard on the fake news reports on VNN.
Volunteers who wanted to participate in TOPOFF 3 had to undergo a background check, Short said, to ensure that terrorist groups would not gain insight into the US response system.
Although the exercise is operating on a broad regional scale, it will not adversely impact actual emergency services or the agencies involved, said Short. That is why Chertoff, one of the high-ranking participants, will pull double duty during the exercise.
The types of attack chosen are not based on specific intelligence. Instead, Short said, the chemical and biological attacks represent events that could take place based on the capabilities officials believe terrorists have.
In all, planning and evaluation of TOPOFF 3 took two years and cost US$16 million dollars. Officials say the expenditure is worth it.
"There is no question that our coordination, precision and practice today will save countless lives tomorrow if our nations are ever again attacked by terrorists," Chertoff said.
He said that the simulation excercise offers emergency responders and top officials "a rare opportunity" to practice and validate their capabilities in response to a coordinated terrorist attack.
"It offers the chance to understand the challenges posed by biological and chemical weapons and to witness the cooperation among organizations at every level of government in protecting our homeland against the threat of terrorism," he said.
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