TOPOFF 3 exercise | 01.05.2006 | 17:00:39 | Views: 5477 | ID: January 5 '06: A report compiled by the inspector general, Richard Skinner, in the Department of Homeland Security has found that it is essential for "participating responders as well as coordinating departments and agencies to have a common operation picture, which is essential to an efficient and effective command-and-control structure," during the biennial TOPOFF exercises, Government Computer News reported. The exercise involved communities in New Jersey and Connecticut responding to a mustard gas attack and a plague outbreak. The viability and efficacy of the National Response Plan and the National Incident Management Systems were tested and the goal was to promote and exercise information sharing during the emergency, GCN reported. The TOPOFF exercise was the third in a series of like-organized tests of the new strategy by the Department of Homeland Security to test and prepare its various agencies and their umbrella agencies in the event of a national or natural emergency. "The inspector general," GCN reported, "recommended that the executive director of the Office of State and Local Government Coordination and Preparedness design an information management systems for future exercises to make information sharing more standardized and efficient." The report also found, GCN reported that, "Current information-sharing networks are not geared toward supporting nongovernmental organizations or small business owners."
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