Posted on 08/24/2005 10:29:42 PM PDT by SandRat
FORT BRAGG, N.C. (Army News Service, Aug. 24, 2005) - More than 21 local, state, federal and military agencies last week took part in “Orbit Comet,” the largest full-scale anti-terrorism exercise ever in North Carolina.
The exercise began Aug. 15 with a scenario a few minutes before 8 a.m.: on a Fort Bragg range road, two MPs escorting two buses of VIPs were fatally injured when the convoy was hit by improvised explosive devices. Several congressmen were taken hostage and scurried to an unknown location. Others remained captive on one of the buses which became disabled by the assault.
Developing creative, realistic scenarios was essential if the first responders and leaders were to get a learning experience out of the week-long event, said
Greg Jackson, deputy director of Fort Bragg’s Directorate of Emergency
Services. He said planning for the exercise started back in November.
Looking for ways to test capabilities, processes and existing relationships with other homeland defense organizations, Fort Bragg reached out for assistance – and got it in droves.
The Fayetteville Police Department and Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office conducted a raid on a mock drug house. Information gathered from the operation formed the foundation
of the intelligence assessment and an FBI situation report that was disseminated to law enforcement and security organizations.
In addition to analyzing intelligence, the FBI dedicated its SWAT team and senior leadership to the regional event.
“This exercise is really a representation of what has been going on for several years here,” said Kevin Kendrick, special agent in charge of the FBI in North Carolina.
“This is a culmination of a lot of planning and we are all very proud to be able to take part in this exercise.”
After the swift and successful rescue of the busload of congressional delegates Monday morning, Fort Bragg’s SRT and the FBI’s SWAT surrounded a terrorist hideout in houses on post. Other political figures were held hostage there with the terrorists threatening to detonate a ‘dirty bomb’ if their demands were not met.
When negotiations failed between law enforcement officials and the terrorists, Tuesday morning both tactical teams prepared to assault the houses.
“Alternate breech! Alternate breech!” ordered the FBI SWAT team leader over the radio when heavily barricaded front doors initially refused to yield to the forceful throws of the battering rams. Just then, the doors of both houses caved to the persistent rams of the entry teams, creating passageways for two streams of heavily armed men intent on finding and saving the hostages.
Kendrick drove home the fact that exercises like Orbit Comet help hone the necessary tactical skills and techniques needed to respond to a terrorist attack.
“That’s what it’s all about at the end of the day. Prevention of terrorism is our number one priority in the FBI.” said Kendrick.
Neighboring Fort Bragg is Pope Air Force Base, host to the multi-agency Joint Operations Center. The FBI also established a JOC in the eastern region of the state.
At Pope, the JOC was a bevy of activity – not only because of the surge of senior officials from multiple agencies and the hustle needed to manage the complex scenario – but because the mock terrorists had gummed up the installation’s perimeter: one of the training devices had malfunctioned, causing the base to divert traffic and send in the Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit to render the device safe.
The terrorists detonated two bombs that day – the one on Pope Air Force Base and another on Fort Bragg. “Engine 11, Engine 31, Engine 51, Rescue 1, HAZMAT, Chief 3, respond to Knox Street vicinity Materiel Maintenance Division for a report of explosion,” barked the Fort Bragg Fire Department’s dispatch. Soon, fire departments from Pope Air Force Base and Fayetteville would arrive on scene to render mutual aid. This was the ‘dirty bomb’ the terrorists had warned of. The fallout of the chemical agent created a mass casualty exercise, testing the capabilities of Womack Army Medical Center.
WAMC’s effort focused on the Hospital Emergency
Incident Command System, said Marsha Lunt, security officer for WAMC.
“…This system allows interoperability with our civilian counter parts during emergencies, and enables personnel and resources to be brought in to respond, more quickly,” Lunt said.
Col. John G. Chambliss, commander of the 16th Military Police Brigade (Airborne), and director of the Directorate of Emergency Services, said the goal with Orbit Comet is to train to deter or minimize any type of terrorist activity that could possibly take place on Fort Bragg or the surrounding communities.
“This exercise was not only beneficial to Fort Bragg and the local community, but also to the state and federal agencies that participated. It’s important because we had all the key players involved from the local, state and federal agencies and we mutually were able to fine tune each of our emergency response plans which realistically can only be accomplished by having exercises such as Orbit Comet,” said Chambliss.
At the Military Ocean Terminal, Sunny Point on Thursday morning, security officials and members of the fire department responded to a chlorine gas leak caused by a train accident occurring right outside of the facility. Three security officers on the gate and a responding patrol were overtaken by the chemical fumes.
“We need a MEDEVAC!” ordered the assistant fire chief who was the incident commander. After decontamination by the MOTSU HAZMAT team, the victims were transported to the local hospital. Above the incident scene, aircraft from the Civil Air Patrol provided security and monitored the vapor cloud - while the nearly 300 employees of the port sheltered in place in an attempt to avoid being affected by the deadly fumes. By afternoon, the chemical no longer posed a threat, and all employees were accounted for and evacuated.
“This was the first time we’ve involved every employee on the installation in a force protection exercise,” said Ron Waidlich, director of Emergency Services for MOTSU. “It really raised their awareness and improved our emergency response posture.”
“Another benefit of the exercise was that it validated our mutual support agreements,” Waidlich said.
HAZMAT teams from the surrounding towns of South Port and Boiling Spring Lakes responded to the mock incident, and assisted with the mitigating the effects of the “leak” “We also got great support from approximately 25 teens from the Civil Air Patrol,” continued Waidlich. “They were right out there with us, helping with the evacuation.”
Later that night, a terrorist group breached Sunny Point’s perimeter; but it was quickly discovered by security officers. With assistance from law enforcement officers from the Brunswick County Sheriffs Department and Soldiers from the Army National Guard who served as an eye in the sky with their OH-58, Sunny Point security forces foiled the terrorists from meeting their objective.
One hundred miles up the coast, in Morehead City, 10,000 gallons of asphalt flux spilled from the Trumbull Terminal at the state port in an exercise attempt to hamper the outload of U.S. Marines from nearby Camp Lejeune. Unknown to the Marines, two camper trucks full of high explosives had decimated a public ferryboat in Pamlico Sound and pneumonic plague was detected in Pitt Count, quickly followed by nine other coastal counties reporting plague.
“The Marines really were outloading that day,” said Andrew H. Albright, Readiness, Intelligence and Plans Officer for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security / Coast Guard. He said a unified command was established between the N.C. State Port Authority, U.S. Navy, Military Sealift Command, North Carolina Department of Transportation and DHS/USCG to respond to near-simultaneous events.
The forecast of an impending storm prevented much of the full-scale live play, but “this really worked out for the better,” Albright said. “We had the DHS/USCG vice commandant, senior representatives from the Navy, and the DHS Homeland Security Operations Center on video-teleconference. We had plenty of time to focus on our procedures. From this, we reviewed the National Response Options Matrix, and made some recommendations which may influence the NRP.”
Other participating agencies included: Federal Emergency Management Agency, North Carolina’s State Bureau of Investigation, the Fayetteville Police and Fire Departments, the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department.
“When planning these exercises, we (the military) have to work within the capabilities of our civilian counterparts in order to earn their trust,” said Albright. “I think we did that.”
Most of the Orbit Comet planning team will take a couple weeks off and catch their breath, but then they said it’s back to the drawing board to plan for the next anti-terrorism exercise which will take place in the spring.
(Edtior’s note: Lt. Col. Susan C. Danielsen and Spc. Jonathan J. Springer serve with the 16th MP Brigade (Abn.))
ABN Ping
The exercise began Aug. 15 with a scenario a few minutes before 8 a.m.: on a Fort Bragg range road, two MPs escorting two buses of VIPs were fatally injured when the convoy was hit by improvised explosive devices. Several congressmen were taken hostage and scurried to an unknown location. Others remained captive on one of the buses which became disabled by the assault.
BTTT!!!!!!!
Thanks for the ping!
Amen!!!
Terrorists taking out congresscritters? Did they switch sides?
I'm very upset that we didn't get to vote on what congresscritters were taken hostage ;)
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