Courtesy Helps Ensure Success of Largest U.S. Terrorism-Response Exercise

Supports U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Simulation of Chemical Attacks and Bomb Blasts

When Courtesy Associates was selected to help manage the entire back-end logistics of TOPOFF 3, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) 2004-2005 terrorism response exercise, they knew the opportunity as well as the effort would be tremendous. The TOPOFF (Top Officials) exercise, which is held every two years by federal mandate, is a week-long, full-scale drill that follows a series of meetings and events under DHS’s National Exercise Program.

Designed to strengthen the nation’s capacity to prevent, protect against, respond to and recover from terrorist attacks involving weapons of mass destruction, these exercises offer agencies and jurisdictions a way to test their emergency preparedness plans in a real-time, realistic environment. TOPOFF 3 is the largest ever full-scale, terrorism-response drill in the country and was staged simultaneously in three different U.S. locations. More than 10,000 participants from 200 federal, state and local first-responder organizations joined together to plan and execute responses to various hypothetical terrorist attacks, with government officials from the United Kingdom and Canada also participating in the drills.

According to Courtesy Director of Operations Leslie Thornton, this response was no small feat, even with the support of 13 other sub-contractors. "The execution of large-scale, terrorism-response drills taking place in multiple U. S. states simultaneously is relatively new," said Thornton. "Therefore, we are not only managing the largest exercise of its kind in the country and perhaps the world, but also reacting to new and often unseen logistical issues, and making adjustments and changes on the fly that lead to more effective and efficient drills."

The assignment drew upon Courtesy’s deep event-management experience and diverse strengths. "Our roles included everything from site selection, contract negotiation and venue management to hotel and travel arrangements, reimbursements and overall management of all on-site logistics for the events," says Thornton. "TOPOFF 3 involved the work of numerous Courtesy employees, many of whom were needed 24/7 for weeks at a time. Given its size and complexity, TOPOFF 3 also presented us with an opportunity to leverage the personnel and resources of SmithBucklin, an unparalleled advantage for us as we tackle extremely large assignments."

Thornton noted that Courtesy’s extensive preparation and extraordinary attention to detail helped ensure success. "For the specific drills we were assigned – which included a simulated chemical terrorist attack and bomb blast in Connecticut and a simulated biological attack in New Jersey – we sent advance teams to each venue on a monthly basis to oversee the preparation and to report on progress. By becoming intimately familiar with even the smallest details, we were better prepared to handle last-minute requests and respond to eleventh-hour scheduling and logistical changes," said Thornton.

In addition to the week-long TOPOFF exercises, Courtesy also managed numerous other National Exercise Program meetings and seminars. These included high-level briefings between cabinet-level officials and national, state and local public information officers.