SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. - U.S. Transportation Command joins other federal military and civilian agencies this week for an exercise to demonstrate a whole-of-government response to an earthquake along the New Madrid Seismic Zone, compounded by another soon after in the Wabash Valley Seismic Zone.
On Monday, the Department of Homeland Security took the lead in week-long Tier 1 National Level Exercise 2011 with federal department and agency senior officials, their deputies and staff, and key operational elements. NLE 11 is a White House-directed, Congressionally mandated exercise which tests the response in the wake of a catastrophic earthquake.
NLE 11 incorporates several other exercises including the Joint Chiefs of Staff Positive Response 2011, U.S. Northern Command’s Ardent Sentry 2011, the Department of Health and Human Services Noble Life Saver 2011, and USTRANSCOM’s Turbo Challenge 2011/Ultimate Caduceus 2011.
TC 11/UC 11 brings together the command, its components and partners for the command post and patient movement field training exercises. Exercise planners hail TCH 11/UC 11 as the most ambitious so far for USTRANSCOM, and the exercise provides the command an opportunity to gauge readiness against four exercise objectives:
- Plan and conduct mobility forces deployment and patient movement in support of DHS and USNORTHCOM requirements in a cyber constrained environment;
- Plan logistics sustainment for Defense Support of Civil Authorities;
- Conduct fused planning and manage current operations;
- And demonstrate continuity of operations in a physically degraded environment.
A team of controllers, observers and trainers supports the exercise. A deployable training team from U.S. Joint Forces Command Joint Warfighting Center is observing staff performance to ensure maximum learning throughout the event. A Joint Interoperability Test Command team is also giving feedback on information assurance procedures. Finally, USTRANSCOM's Joint Exercise Control Group is recording staff performance and ensuring the exercise stays on track.
Preparations for this year's exercise included an academics program, three-day instruction from USJFCOM and USTRANSCOM experts, and online courses on DSCA.
Two highlights set TCH 11/UC 11 apart from previous years' exercises. The first is the degree to which USTRANSCOM executes its continuity of operations plan. The second relates to the realism of operating in a cyber-constrained environment.
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