Northcom Backs Out of National Level Exercise 2010

Northcom has unexpectedly withdrawn from participation in National Level Exercise (NLE) with FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security. The Department of Defense announced on April 26 it was decoupling its Ardent Sentry exercise from the National Level Exercise.

Ardent Sentry is a Joint Chiefs of Staff directed and Northcom sponsored “homeland defense” exercise. It is one of a number of DoD and Homeland Security exercises that blur the boundaries between the Pentagon, the federal government, and state and local governments under the guise of combating terrorism and responding to natural disasters.

The Pentagon said it decided against the exercise after Las Vegas, the planned site for a post-nuclear-attack response exercise, pulled out in November, fearing a negative impact on its struggling business environment, according to the Washington Times. Officials said a new site could not be found.

“The official also said the Northern Command’s exercise plans for ‘cooping’ — continuity of operations, during which commanders go to off-site locations — also had been scratched,” writes Rowan Scarborough for the newspaper.

FEMA Issues New Standards for Private Sector Preparedness

Voluntary Private Sector Preparedness Accreditation and Certification Program (PS-Prep) Resource Center

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) today Announced these new proposed standards for private sector preparedness. Access the PS-Prep website above to navigate the new resource center for the private-sector.

In addition, FEMA and DHS have just released the Spanish-language versions of the FEMA mainpage and the DisasterAssistance.gov sites. Both of these sites will now provide full access to emergency preparedness information in English and en Español.

US FEMA Winter Storm Washington Disaster Recovery Plans, Feb 2009

Plans, operational details, and initiating letter from President Obama for the FEMA lead disaster recovery effort based at Camp Murray, Washington (State).

DOWNLOAD/VIEW FULL FILE

FEMA Releases Comprehensive Preparedness Guide 101

Yesterday, April 14, 2009, the “Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced … the release of the final Comprehensive Preparedness Guide (CPG) 101: ‘Developing and Maintaining State, Territorial, Tribal, and Local Government Emergency Plans.'” The “CPG 101 is the first in a series of publications developed through the FEMA National Preparedness Directorate’s CPG Initiative. Future CPGs will discuss planning considerations for a variety of emergency functions, hazards and special preparedness programs including; special needs planning, household pets and service animals, fusion center / emergency operations center interface, and hazard-specific guidance.” This document “serves as the emergency plan foundation for both public and private sector planning in the United States. Planners in all disciplines and organizations may find portions of the guide useful in the development of their emergency response plans.”

The CPG 101 can be found here.