TTX ARR/IP
06/18/2013
After Action Report &
Improvement Plan
Executive Summary
Executive Summary
Preface
This
After Action Report/ Improvement Plan (AAR/IP) was produced with input, advice,
and assistance of the Operation Helping
Hand 2013 exercise planning team, which followed the guidance set forth in
the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Homeland Security Exercise and
Evaluation Program (HSEEP).
Purpose
Scope & Objectives / Target Capabilities
Emphasize the role of COAD volunteers in
assisting County Emergency Management in the event of a countywide disaster.
Capabilities-based planning focuses on planning under uncertainty because the
next danger or disaster can never be forecast with complete accuracy.
The capabilities drilled were selected by the Operation Helping Hand 2013 Exercise
Planning Team. These capabilities provide the foundation for development of the
exercise design objectives and scenario. The purpose of this exercise is to
measure and validate performance of these capabilities and their associated
critical tasks. The selected target capabilities are:
Mass
Care
Volunteer
Management
Economic
and Community Recovery
The purpose of this report is to
analyze exercise results, identify strengths to be maintained and built upon,
identify potential areas for further improvement, and support development of
corrective actions.
Major
Strengths
Major
strengths identified during this exercise are as follows:
·
A detailed and realistic exposure to
an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) logistics support and how COAD fits into
this.
·
The strong relationship between volunteer
organizations, first responders, and the community as a whole.
·
A stronger understanding of the
process of the need, activation, and utilization of COAD.
·
The Stellar turn out of the COAD
members.
Primary
areas for improvement identified during this exercise are as follows:
· The
need of further basic Incident Command System training.
· More,
in depth training is needed; everything cannot be covered in 2 ½ hours or less
of training. Drills, functional exercises, and participation in a full scale
exercise would be helpful.
· Numerous participants requested longer
training time, a different time of the day for training, more people invited..
Exercise Start & End Date
June 18, 2013
1 1/2 hours
Saint
Joseph’s Hospital- Bellingham, WA
Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office Division of
Emergency Management
and Whatcom Unified Emergency Management
Program
County Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan
Scenario
Type
Operation
Helping Hand 2013 was a multimedia, facilitated exercise. Players
participated in the following three
modules:
Module 1: Briefing and Start
Module 2: Initial Response
Module 3: Ongoing Operations and Ending
Each module started with a multimedia update
that summarizes key events occurring within that time period. After the inject
has been handed to a participant, participants review the situation and engage
in a functional response of what they would actually do. Operation Helping Hand 2013 functional groups was as follows:
·
Non-Governmental Organizations
·
County
·
City
·
Emergency Management
Assumptions
and Artificialities
In any
exercise a number of assumptions and artificialities are necessary to complete
play in the time allotted.
·
The scenario was plausible, and events occurred
as they were presented
·
There was no “hidden agenda”, nor any trick
questions.
·
Players received information and played it as a
real event.
·
The date was
November 8th, 2013.
It started with a
briefing of players. The briefing
included basic information on exercise format and play that includes:
3:00-3:20 PM- Incident briefing- Set the
stage and answers questions
· Key responders are presented with the
problem.
· Actions and decisions by responders per
established plans and protocols will
drive the exercise forward.
· Exercise play will continue until the designated
time expires.
· At the end of the day each participant will be
asked to complete a Participant Feedback Form. The form is seeking three
positive outcomes and three areas of improvement.
Exercise Play
3:20-3:30 PM
Scenario:
Tuesday, November 8, 2013. It’s a rainy fall day in Whatcom County.
Western Washington has experienced severe flooding for the last two weeks
with more rain in the forecast. Today, a total of 5 counties have made
disaster declarations .
3:35-3:50 PM
Scenario: Two Days Later. At this point, 11 counties
have made disaster declarations; two major urban centers have been
substantially impacted. Many acres of agricultural land were washed over and
numerous dairy farms flooded. It is estimated that more than 50 citizens were
killed and/or injured and another 60,000 have been displaced from their homes
State wide. The Governor calls a special meeting to discuss the status of the
storms and on-going response efforts, and calls on county/ city governments to
initiate long-term recovery plans.
Later that day, WCSO-DEM stands up an EOC and requests COAD
presences. Unified Command at the EOC has established goals of returning the 35
displaced residents to their homes quickly or providing suitable temporary
housing, reopening businesses in a timely fashion that were affected by
flooding in Bellingham/ Ferndale, and strategic use volunteers as soon as
possible.
3:55-4:00 PM
Scenario: Two weeks later. The Governor will request
a Presidential Declaration of a Disaster for the State of Washington. Federal
funds will come but it will take some time to be available to the state. Considerable
additional funding will be needed to meet recovery needs, but for the time
being needs must be met, and damage assessment given to the state.
Scenario: Six months later. Most displaced residents
are now in permanent housing. Repair to damaged businesses in Bellingham and
Ferndale is still underway. Infrastructure repair and rebuilding continues.
Eighty percent of businesses have reopened but some still struggle. Programs
are ongoing and additional funding requests are still pending.
4:00-4:05 PM
Exercise Hot Wash (exercise play, decisions, and actions
will be reviewed as a group).
Name: Chalice
Dew-Johnson
Agency: Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office, Division of Emergency Management.
Agency: Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office, Division of Emergency Management.
Name:
Patrick Hurley
Agency: Mt. Baker Red Cross
Agency: Mt. Baker Red Cross
Name:
Mallory Graving
Agency: Saturna Capital
Agency: Saturna Capital
Name:
Kent Catlin
Agency: Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office, Division of Emergency Management
Agency: Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office, Division of Emergency Management
Participating Organizations
- Acme Presbyterian
Church
- Adventist
Community Services
- Bellingham
Police Department
- Bellingham
Surgery Center
- Bellingham
Technical College
- CERT
- Christ the
King Community Church
- COAD
- Department
of Social and Health Services
- Garden
Street UMC
- Mac and Mac
Electric
- Medical
Reserve Corps
- NAACR
- Plush Pooch
Palace
- WASART
- Whatcom
County Amateur Radio
- Whatcom County Sheriff’s Division of Emergency Management
- Whatcom Fire District # 11
- Whatcom Unified
Emergency Management
- Whatcom Volunteer Center
- Mt. Baker Chapter of the Red Cross
- United Church of Ferndale
- Saturna
Capital
- Search and Rescue Council
·
Players:
48
·
Controller/
Evaluator:1
·
Facilitators:1
As a part of
this review, areas for improvement have been identified, as well as many documented
strengths. Over all it was agreed upon that the TTX successfully reflected the need
for ongoing training as well as role playing practice for COAD members.
The strong
points of the table top that were routinely mentioned in the evaluation process
included:
· A detailed and realistic exposure to
an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) planning/ administration of COAD.
· The strong relationship between
volunteer organizations, first
responders, and the community as a whole.
·
A stronger understanding of the
process of producing COAD activation.
· An excellent investment in developing
an emergency volunteer cadre.
The areas of
concern that were recognized during the exercise were:
· More,
in depth training is needed; everything cannot be covered in 2 ½
hours or less
of training.
· Numerous participants requested in the future more
time spent in training.
More participants invited. An equal number wanted
fewer.
· Better
effort at removing acronyms from the presentation.
· Concern
over if major participants are not able to respond, that the system
could still
be activated/ managed.
These
recommendations draw on both the After Action Report, the After
Action
Conference, and participant feedback forms.|
Capability
|
Function
|
Recommendation
|
Primary Responsible Agency
|
Agency
POC
|
Start Date
|
Target Completion Date
|
|
Emergency Operations Center (EOC)
Management
Resource Coordination
|
Capability
to provide management by activating and operating an EOC for a pre-planned or
no-notice event.
Build a list of back-up
COAD Facilitators to assist in the coordination and integration of COAD.
|
1) When time commitment allows, designate
training for further COAD drills/ exercises
to better prepare COAD members for seamless cooperation with the EOC.
When time/ allow make further investments in
developing more COAD leadership to assist with COAD activation.
|
WUEM and
COAD
COAD
|
Chalice Dew
Johnson
Active COAD
Membership
|
As time
allow
As time
allow
|
As of 2014
As of 2014
|
