Appendix A - FEMA Guidance for Drills and Exercises 38

BUILDING BLOCK APPROACH TO EXERCISE SCHEDULING AND PLANNING

Functional Exercises

Games

Drills

Tabletops

Workshops

Seminars

Planning and Training Capability

OPERATIONS-BASED EXERCISES

DRILL

A drill is a coordinated, supervised activity usually employed to validate a specific function or capability in a single agency organization. Drills are commonly used to provide training on tasks specific to new equipment or procedures, to introduce or validate procedures, or practice and maintain current skills.

Goals

• Provide training on new equipment • Evaluate new procedures, policies, and/or equipment • Practice and maintain skills • Prepare for more complex exercises

Characteristics

• Immediate feedback • Realistic but isolated environment

FUNCTIONAL EXERCISE (FE)

These are designed to validate and evaluate capabilities, multiple functions and/or sub-functions, or interdependent groups of functions. FEs are typically focused on exercising plans, policies, procedures, and staff members involved in management, direction, command, and control functions.

Goals

• Validate and evaluate capabilities • Focused on plans, policies, and procedures

Characteristics

• Conducted in a realistic, real-time simulated environment • Simulated deployment of resources and personnel • Use of SimCell and Master Scenario Events List (MSEL) • Include controller and evaluators

FULL-SCALE EXERCISE (FSE)

Full-scale exercises (FSE) are high stress multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional activities designed to test coordinated responses and rapid problem solving skills. These are the most complex, resource-intensive, and possibly expensive exercises.

Goals

• Demonstrate roles and responsibilities as addressed in plans and procedures • Coordinate between multiple agencies, organizations and jurisdictions

Characteristics

• High-stress environment • Rapid problem solving • Critical thinking • Conducted in a realistic, real-time environment to mirror a real incident • Mobilization of units, personnel, and equipment