Pontiac, MI, September 17, 2008 Oakland County's Emergency Response & Preparedness division is participating in a homeland security exercise on Thursday, September 18, at Oakland Community College in Auburn Hills.
The training exercise, which has been in the planning stage for about a year, will simulate multiple terrorism attacks on critical infrastructure and key resources in Oakland County. It will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Combined Regional Emergency Services Training (CREST) facility on the college campus and involve nearly 500 local, state and federal responders and volunteers. Similar exercises are planned in Detroit and Wayne County on Thursday.
"This is a continuation of our efforts to strengthen our strategic, operational and tactical target capabilities," said Mike Loper, emergency management specialist with Oakland County Emergency Response & Preparedness. "It is important that we work with our regional partners to evaluate our readiness posture and identify areas needing improvement."
The Oakland County Sheriff's Office, Oakland County Health Division, Star EMS, several area hospitals, the FBI and the Michigan National Guard 51st WMD Civil Support Team are among those participating it the exercise.
During the exercise, the Oakland County Emergency Operations Center will be partially activated to simulate a multi-agency coordination system and support central command system in accordance with the National Incident Management System.
The event is sponsored by the Southeast Michigan Urban Area Security Initiative. For media inquiries only, please contact Mike Sturm, Oakland County ERP Administrator at 248-858-5300.
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