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EXERCSE
SCHEDULE AND SUMMARY
2008
Scheduled Exercises
To
date no exercises have been scheduled
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2007
Completed Exercises
County
Full-Scale Exercise -15 October
Executive
Summary Link
Island
County ARES/RACES Communications Support Functional Exercise -
21 April 2007
The fourth
Island County Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) and Radio
Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) and functional exercise
was conducted on 21 April 2007 from 0900-1000 hours local time.
Like previous similar
exercises, the primary goal was to utilize the amateur radio system
in a manner consistent with emergency locations and existing equipment.
The results of this exercise will be used to fill in the information
gaps from the preceding exercises as to 2-meter amateur simplex
radio coverage. Ultimately the County Radio officer and others
will be better able to site emergency radio station locations
on Whidbey Island and Camano Islands. The exercise used simplex
operation as representing the worst-case scenario. A secondary
goal was to exercise the EOC amateur radio equipment and operators.
There were also four
specific objectives in support of this goal. The first objective
was to provide an opportunity to deploy and operate mobile radio
stations on Whidbey and Camano Islands. The second and third
objectives were to coordinate a widely distributed radio net from
the county EOC. The fourth objective was to collect data to
develop a radio coverage diagram of the Island. While all four
objectives were met, some scheduled locations remained untested
due to a lack of operators. This was the final planned radio mapping
exercise. Other exercises may provide data for coverage assessment,
but other exercise goals should be pursued.
The exercise was jointly
planned and executed by the Island County Department of Emergency
Management (DEM), Island County RACES operators, the Stanwood-Camano
Amateur Radio Club, and the Island County Amateur Radio Club.
The exercise design was based directly on previous functional
exercises allowing for a compressed planning period and improvements
in data collection.
2006
Completed Exercises
ARES/R.A.C.E.S.
Functional Exercise - 19 Aug 06
The
ARES/RACES exercise was conducted on 19 August. While the
number of operators was less than planned a lot of good information
was either generated or confirmed from earlier exercises.
Exercise participation was decreased by a conflict with another
amateur radio event. Even so, the exercise involved 19 operators
at 16 locations. A number of primary emergency radio locations
were not tested necessitating a repeat of this exercise with more
emphasis on the extreme north and south of Whidbey Island.
2
April 2006, Radio Support to the Whidbey Marathon
The radio support to
the Whidbey Island Marathon was conducted along with the marathon
on 2 April. The radio support and exercise was considered
a success in that all training goals were met and lessons learned
were captured for improvement in the future. This year there
were 34 radio operators and support personnel who contributed
over 1023 hours of service and drove some 848 miles to and from
their race locations.
2005
Completed Exercises
13
January 2005, R.A.C.E.S Functional Exercise
Scenario involved response
to a regional natural disaster. County EOC activated ARES station
and then transitioned to RACES operations. The goals of the
exercise were to operate a network control station, respond to
a repeater failure, and to properly pass radio emergency messages
by radio, and determine area radio coverage. Exercise goals
were met and the exercise revealed the need for training in network
operations and message handling procedures.
The exercise also involved
stations from Snohomish, Skagit, and Whatcom Counties. This
was also the first county organized radio exercise in over ten
years.
10
February, 2005, Coupeville Road Shop Tabletop Exercise
Scenario involved response
to a county wide severe storm covering a three day period.
The goal of the exercise was to test Public Works and road shop
emergency plans and response to difficult situations.
The exercise revealed
that the shop was well organized and trained and for emergency
operations.
17
March 2005, Bayview Road Shop Tabletop Exercise
Scenario involved response
to a county wide severe storm covering a three day period.
The goal of the exercise was to test Public Works and road shop
emergency plans and response to difficult situations.
10
April 2005, Radio Support to Whidbey Island Marathon:
The radio
support to the Whidbey Island Marathon was conducted along with
the marathon on 10 April. The radio support and exercise
was considered a success in that all training goals were met and
lessons learned were captured for improvement in the future.
14
April 2005, Oak Harbor Road Shop Tabletop Exercise
The Oak Harbor Road
Shop tabletop exercise was completed on 14 April. This was
the last of four highly successful training exercises. Overall,
the road shops were well trained an prepared for nearly all the
incidents and events "thrown" at them in the scenario.
The tabletop exercises provided and opportunity for everyone to
think "out of their box" to provide input and comment
on how actions might be completed or dealt with. In al cases
there was good open discussion and a free trade of ideas.
26
May 2005, Medical Full-Scale Exercise
On 26 May, DEM and some
9 other first emergency first responder organizations conducted
a full-scale joint hospital exercise. The two hospitals
Whidbey General and Naval Hospital Oak Harbor received victims
of a threatened terror poisoning of a large picnic. The
exercise goal was to stress the hospital emergency rooms, provide
them an incident where they needed to coordinate resources, and
to recognize and protect against possible a possible domestic
terrorism event. The exercise also involved Oak Harbor Fire
and Police, Whidbey General EMS, Navy ambulances, Island Transit,
North Whidbey Fire and Rescue and some 26 volunteers from the
Oak Harbor High School.
The exercise was an
unqualified success and provided both a realistic training experience
but also allowed plans and coordination processes to be realistically
tested.
7
JUNE, FIRE DISTRICT # 3, MASS CASUALTY EXERCISE (MCI)
South Whidbey Fire and
Rescue (Fire District #3) conducted its annual MCI on 7 June,
starting at 1830 hours. The full-scale exercise consisted
of 8 separate scenes. The goal of the exercise was both
to test and exercise the fire district's fire fighting and rescue
skills and also to stress and exercise the district's area command
capability. For information about the exercise call Jerry
Beck at (360) 661-0600 or 321-9385 x 5.
12
August, 2005, Emergency Radio Functional Exercise, Radio Coverage
Mapping of Camano Island
On 12 August a radio
coverage exercise centered on Camano Island was conducted by the
Stanwood-Camano Island Amateur Radio Club and sponsored by the
Island County DEM. A large number of amateur radio stations
on and off Camano Island participated in the exercise which was
designed to show 2 meter, simplex radio coverage at various locations
on the Island. Good data was accumulated and will be presented
in the after action report. Interestingly enough, a participating
2 meter station was received from Silverdale, Wa.
4
October 2005, EOC Functional Exercise
The Island County EOC
was set-up and activated for an exercise for possibly the first
time in almost ten years. The exercise was needed to test
and validate the facility plan, staffing and training requirements,
communications, and procedures.
Many county departments and non-county support agencies provided
representatives. The exercise involved a complex terrorism
related incident that evolved into large fire, medical, and law
enforcement requirements. The EOC was to coordinate resources
for the first responders.
The after action report
is being compiled at this time. Many issue were identified
for resolution before the EOC can be considered fully ready for
effective large scale activation.
4
October 2005, EOC Functional Exercise
The ISland County EOC
was exercised on 4 October between 2 and 4:30 PM. This was
the first EOC exercise in several years and since the extensive
remodeling of the Annex Building. The exercise revealed many aspects
of EOC organization and operation that need to be addressed over
the next year. An after action report has been drafted and
is being finalized.
21
November 2005, Oak Harbor Fire and North Whidbey Fire and Rescue
combined Mass Casualty Exercise
The mass casualty exercise
was successfully executed at the Oak Harbor Public Works shop
area. The scenario was based on National Training Scenario
Number 9, Major Earthquake Response. The exercise focused
on search, rescue, and medical field operations. Over 100
personnel were involved from three fire services and other city
and county resources.
The exercise was the
first of its kind in this county to be conducted after dark.
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