Homeland Security Initiative
will Save State Money, Better Focus Efforts
JEFFERSON CITY, November 3, 2005-Mark James, Director of the Missouri
Department of Public Safety, today announced plans for a statewide
training program that will consolidate and better coordinate the homeland
security exercises of state and local agencies across Missouri.
“It is essential that we have one coordinated statewide exercise
program,” James said. “After taking office Governor Blunt
asked the Department of Public Safety to emphasize homeland security
training and exercises and to cut excess waste from the department.
This initiative accomplishes both tasks.”
James, who is Gov. Blunt’s Homeland Security Advisor and chair
of the Homeland Security Advisory Council, met with Ron Reynolds,
Director of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), and other
SEMA officials early in the year and formulated the idea of a creating
a statewide, long-term exercise program and calendar in order to make
state homeland security exercises more efficient.
SEMA then created the State Exercise Coordination Group, which met
yesterday and formalized a mission statement, purpose and scope of
work statement. The planning group’s mission is, “Develop
and implement a statewide coordinated all hazard exercise program
to enhance prevention, preparedness, response and recovery capabilities
during times of emergency or disaster thereby ensuring the safety
of Missouri citizens and vital resources.”
This is the furthest any group has gone in coordinating the individual
efforts of state and local agencies that conduct homeland security-related
exercises in a variety of different disciplines. The State Exercise
Coordination Group has set the goal of creating an integrated five-year
exercise calendar for all state and local agencies.
The group’s purpose is to enhance Missouri homeland security
by:
· Coordinating state and local resources
· Ensuring exercises have all applicable agencies participating
· Ensuring funds are not spent on duplicative exercises
· Spreading exercise dates out so that exercises do not take
place on the same day or too close to another exercise
· Scheduling exercises that cover a variety of scenarios (ie.
biological, chemical, radiological, nuclear, explosives).
Many agencies, both state and local, must conduct federal and state-mandated
exercises throughout the course of the year. SEMA’s coordinating
group will work with these agencies to make sure their strategic goals
and objectives are still met under the umbrella of the statewide training
program.
The State Exercise Coordination Group also discussed the importance
of exercise evaluation, including post-exercise debriefings, and upcoming
statewide exercises including a Busch Stadium exercise slated for
2006.
Participants in the State Exercise Coordination Group include the
Missouri Departments of Corrections; Elementary and Secondary Education;
Health and Senior Services; Higher Education; Insurance; Labor and
Industrial Relations; Natural Resources; Public Safety, including
Missouri Capitol Police, Fire Safety, Highway Patrol, Water Patrol,
and SEMA; and Social Services; as well as the National Guard, including
the Air National Guard; the St. Louis Area Regional Response System
(STARRS), and the Mid-America Regional Council (MARC), and emergency
management officials from both Kansas City and St. Louis.
For more information about the statewide exercise program, please
contact Terri Durdaller at (573) 301-2023.