Support for TOPOFF 3, Public Affairs Response
During TOPOFF 3, ORISE tested DHHS ASPA's ability to respond quickly and effectively to community and media inquiries that would result from a large chemical and biological terrorist event.
TOPOFF (Top Officials) 3 was the most comprehensive terrorism response exercise ever conducted in the United States. Sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in 2005, this exercise involved more than 10,000 participants representing over 200 federal, state, tribal, local, private sector and volunteer organizations in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs (ASPA), played a leadership role in the exercise, testing its ability to communicate effectively with the public and other stakeholders during a terrorist event.
ORAU's risk communication experts supported ASPA by:
- developing exercise objectives, inject messages
- providing control, evaluation, and simulation for ASPA during the five days of the exercise
- developing an exercise evaluation report.
ORAU staff served as controllers and evaluators in the HHS Secretary's Operations Center and the ASPA Emergency Operations Center (EOC). We tested ASPA's ability to respond quickly and effectively to community and media inquiries that would result from a large chemical and biological terrorist event.
Additionally, ORAU personnel conducted simulations in response to exercise events reported on a mock television newscast, termed "VNN," where newscasters broadcast the latest information. While watching the coverage from the Pollard Technology Conference Center, the SIMCELL (simulation cell) staff placed over 500 calls to ASPA EOC staff. Our staff queried HHS with realistic questions that the media, general public, and other stakeholders might pose in the event of a real attack.