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On Tuesday, December 13, more than 30 local and federal government agencies and the maritime industry, will participate in the Territory’s annual full-scale Multi-Hazard & Maritime Exercise. The exercise, titled “Operation Tide Breaker,” is designed to test emergency responders’ incident management capabilities using the Incident Command System developed by the US Department of Homeland Security.
The daylong exercise will begin at 8:30 a.m. and will be held at several venues on St. Thomas including the VI Water and Power Authority, the Lionel Roberts Stadium, WICO, the University of the Virgin Islands field and the Cyril E. King Airport. End of exercise is set for 5 p.m.
“In recent years, national preparedness priorities have steered the focus of homeland security toward planning for uncertainties because we can never tell when the next danger might be,” VITEMA Director Elton Lewis said. “Operation Tide Breaker encompasses three scenarios that require a cross section of local and federal emergency response agencies interfacing in response to various incidents, including an active shooter, a maritime hazardous release incident and medical airlift. This type of exercise helps us assess our capabilities and the desired outcome is that the Territory as a whole is better prepared to respond to a wide variety of incidents.”
The full-scale exercise will test several capabilities including intelligence/information sharing and dissemination, interoperable communications, onsite incident management, emergency triage and pre-hospital treatment, medical evacuation, Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)/Hazardous Material (HazMat) response and explosive device response operations.
Operation Tide Breaker scenarios and venues include:
Plant Evacuation. (8:30-9:30 a.m.) A bomb threat to the VI Water and Power Authority that will cause the Authority to evacuate its workers and to implement its call-down procedure to notify VITEMA’s 911 Emergency Communications Center, the National Response Center, and the U.S. Coast Guard.
Maritime WMD/HazMat Incident & Medical Evacuation. (10:30 a.m.-12 p.m.) A hazardous substance release onboard the Royal Caribbean’s Celebrity Eclipse will cause passengers to become ill and ultimately require the governor to activate the VI National Guard’s 23rd Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team (WMD CST). As part of the exercise, the Schneider Regional Medical Center will conduct triage and patient-tracking and cruise ship officials and government agencies will work jointly to coordinate medical evacuation. The Florida Advanced Surgical & Transport (FAST) Team will practice patient transport using a C130 aircraft and the patient simulation mannequins. The cruise ship will be docked at Havensight for the exercise and exercise players are working to ensure minimal disruption to cruise ships and its passengers.
Active Shooter & Explosive Device Response. (1-5 p.m.) The VI Police Department (VIPD) will respond to an active shooter incident which will be staged at the Lionel Roberts Stadium. As part of the scenario, VIPD will conduct perimeter security, active-shooter entry, and negotiation activities. A suspicious package also will be discovered at the scene, prompting response from other law enforcement entities as well as the 23rd Civil Support Team. For this segment of the exercise, VIPD will close streets surrounding the Lionel Roberts Stadium, between 11:30 a.m. and 5 p.m., for the safety of Operation Tide Breaker participants and the public.
Communications. VITEMA will partially activate its Emergency Operations Center (EOC) on St. Thomas and will conduct at least two communications tests prior to the exercise.
VITEMA, FEMA’s Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP), and the VI National Guard’s 23rd WMD CST spent the past several months developing exercise objectives and coordinating the participation of multiple government agencies and the maritime industry. Other local and federal agencies participating in the Operation Tide Breaker include the VI Fire Service, the VI Port Authority, the VI Department of Health, the Department of Tourism, the US Coast Guard, and the FBI.
“The Regional Exercise Support Program allows FEMA to provide contractors at no cost to VITEMA to take the ideas and training needs of the Territory and help VITEMA turn them into beneficial, realistic, and exciting exercises for the first responders,” said Devin Kerins, FEMA Region II Regional Exercise Officer. “In the past two years we have funded support for exercises to deal with a hurricane, terrorist attacks, and power restoration.”
Kerins, other members of the HSEEP staff, and personnel from FEMA’s Caribbean Area Division will evaluate and support the exercise.
“As FEMA continues identifying exercises and resources to support both state and local governments in advance of any major disasters, through this exercise we are also supporting VITEMA with a vital tool to appraise its readiness and to objectively analyze the effectiveness of its response at the local level," said FEMA’s Caribbean Area Division Director Alejandro De La
Campa.
Lewis commended Royal Caribbean and WICO for their participation in this year’s exercise.
“Homeland security is a shared responsibility between the public and private sector, and the community as a whole,” Lewis said. “As part of Operation Tide Breaker, the maritime industry is contributing to a whole-community approach to emergency management and to enhancing the Territory’s preparedness.”
For more information on Operation Tide Breaker full scale exercise visit the Virgin Islands Joint Information Center at
www.governordejongh.com/vijic.
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