Avagene Moore: Welcome to the EIIP Virtual Forum! On behalf of Amy Sebring and myself, we are happy to see everyone here today. Avagene Moore: For the benefit of any newcomers today, our speaker will be using a few screenshots today. For everyone's information, our speaker is showing only part of the screens but the shots will give you a good idea of what the software looks like. Avagene Moore: When you see a blue hyperlink, please click on it and it should open in another browser window. If it covers your chat window you will need to bring your chat window back to the top after viewing. Avagene Moore: Please do not send private messages to our speaker or the moderator, as we will be busy with the presentation. If you need assistance, please send a private message to Amy Sebring. Avagene Moore: The transcript of today's session will be available by this evening -- just check back on our home page. Avagene Moore: We will begin with the presentation by our guest and then invite your questions. I will provide further instructions just before we begin the Q&A section but you may wish to jot your questions down as we go through the presentation. Avagene Moore: Please be courteous and do not talk out of turn in the session or during the Q&A. We will get to everyone's questions in turn and make the session meaningful for all of us. Avagene Moore: Our session today is an overview of the Automated Exercise and Assessment System (AEAS). I was very fortunate to see the AEAS demonstrated at the IAEM Annual Conference in Columbus Ohio last fall. Avagene Moore: I decided then that the AEAS would make a great session for the Virtual Forum. We are fortunate that our speaker today is the gentleman who was the visionary behind this interactive training system. Avagene Moore: Daniel Donohue serves as the Chief, Public Affairs and Community Support Office, National Guard Bureau. Concurrently, he serves as the Special Assistant to the Chief, National Guard Bureau. Avagene Moore: He joined the National Guard Bureau in February 1979 and served as Chief, Command Information, Chief, Chief, Policy and Plans, and Chief, Media Relations, Chief, Public, Legislative & Intergovernmental Affairs prior to his appointment as Chief, Public Affairs in April 1983. Avagene Moore: Among the major issue areas for which he is responsible are Media Relations, Environmental Public Affairs, Community Relations, Command Information, Risk and Crisis Communications and Historical Services and the WMD "Automated Exercise and Assessment System". Avagene Moore: Our speaker's accomplishments include the creation of the ChalleNGe Youth Program-the most successful at risk youth program in the country, the first formal environmental public affairs program/office in the federal government, and the first risk/crisis communication program for Weapons of Mass destruction incidents and other catastrophic disasters. Avagene Moore: He authored the first comprehensive report to Congress on the Nation's preparedness for a WMD event; and most recently created and directed the development of the National Guard Bureau's WMD Automated Exercise and Assessment System. Avagene Moore: The EIIP Virtual Forum is very pleased to host this session today. It is my pleasure to welcome Dan Donohue to the EIIP Virtual Forum! Dan, I now turn the floor to you. Dan Donohue: Thank you for this opportunity to talk about the AEAS project. It is good to see everyone here today. Dan Donohue: I'd like to acknowledge Bob Coullahan who is here with us from SAIC. Dan Donohue: Bob and his colleagues Jim Cline and Mike Kerrigan are the three people upon whom I relied to help make AEAS a reality. Dan Donohue: Following a 1999 Congressionally directed report of the Nations ability to respond to a major WMD incident, the National Guard Bureau (NGB), at the direction of Congress, initiated a program to develop and field a CD-ROM based "Automated Exercise and Assessment System" specific to Weapons of Mass Destruction Terrorist Attacks on the United States. Dan Donohue: Our goal in the AEAS project was to: ... Dan Donohue: develop a standardized, automated WMD exercise model for local responders throughout the nation; and Dan Donohue: make the model available to over 3500 jurisdictions throughout the nation. Dan Donohue: From this original vision, AEAS was designed and developed by a team of emergency responders, emergency management officials, scientists and homeland security experts leveraging existing simulation technology used for training members of the armed forces. Dan Donohue: The AEAS has been successfully evaluated in field exercises in Utah, West Virginia, Iowa and Pennsylvania to establish a baseline for training local emergency responders across the country. The project was also demonstrated at the IAEM Annual Conference in Columbus Ohio last fall. Dan Donohue: The AEAS program exercises emergency response procedures at the jurisdiction level and it is all done in-house. AEAS allows participants to respond as a team in real-time to simulated emergency scenarios. Dan Donohue: AEAS exercises rely on realistic WMD scenarios that capture proper interagency coordination, the latest accepted procedures and protocols, and the most complete scientific data. Dan Donohue: The scenarios include explosions and the release of radioactive contaminants and biological agents. AEAS supports common terminology, standardized ascendancy, integrated communications, unified command structure, consolidated action plans, ... Dan Donohue: designated incident facilities (command post, staging area, etc.), manageable span-of-control, and comprehensive resource management on the Incident Command System (ICS) and supplemented by mutal aid compacts and protocols that accommodate regional and state-level participation. Dan Donohue: To guarantee scenario authenticity and realism, and to provide general oversight of the AEAS development process, an Independent Review Board assisted the development team. Dan Donohue: The Stakeholder Panel and Review Board members represented civil and military emergency response, medical, scientific and follow-on support communities and provided guidance and validation. Dan Donohue: The software that drives the simulation creates a realistic training environment without the cost, safety and logistic concerns of live, on- location training involving hundreds of role players, dozens of emergency vehicles and other equipment. Dan Donohue: AEAS allows the participating community to use its actual resources against an incident in a geo-typical community. Each community can tailor all response resources to match its own. Dan Donohue: AMY Screen 1 please Amy Sebring: http://www.emforum.org/vforum/aeas/slide01.htm Amy Sebring: (Since we have so many logged in today, the slides may be slow but will be available with the transcript) Dan Donohue: The preparation phase allows a community to develop a complete survey of its equipment. A survey is completed by each agency and is saved for later consolidation. Communities can also set up separate categories for industrial, contract, or other types of mutual aid--in addition to normal mutual pacts. Dan Donohue: AMY Agency Survey please Amy Sebring: http://www.emforum.org/vforum/aeas/slide02.htm Dan Donohue: The agency surveys are then consolidated into a community profile giving the jurisdiction and the emergency manager a complete inventory of its response capabilities. Dan Donohue: AMY Community Profile please Amy Sebring: http://www.emforum.org/vforum/aeas/slide03.htm Dan Donohue: Each participant plays one of 41 different roles on PC workstations, including communications, law enforcement, fire department, emergency management, medical facilities, public health, military support, public information, elected officials, donations and volunteer management. Dan Donohue: AMY Assign Players please Amy Sebring: http://www.emforum.org/vforum/aeas/slide04.htm Dan Donohue: AEAS exercise accommodate up to 20 participants in an environment that promotes face-to-face interactions via messages passing through individual computer workstations connected to a local area network (LAN). Dan Donohue: AEAS captures and records participant actions. Simulated outcomes based on these actions provide the participant with continuous feedback on the status of the incident, allowing them to judge the adquacy of their responses. Dan Donohue: At the conclusion of the exercise, AEAS provides a detailed, printable after-action report (AAR). The report contains a diary of all exercise actions and their consequences. Dan Donohue: The report also compares the participants' actions with an approved standard developed during the emergency responder stakeholder review board vetting process to assist jurisdictions in evaluating and improving their readiness and response actions. Dan Donohue: Selected information from the AAR becomes part of the standardized national baseline assessment of readiness for NGB and other identified agencies. Dan Donohue: Interested emergency response and emergency management officials may request a copy of the CD at https://firstmuster@ngb.army.mil/aeas Dan Donohue: That concludes my remarks. I am available for questions now. Back to you, Avagene. Avagene Moore: Thank you for that fine overview, Dan. I am sure our audience will have many questions for you. ... Jennifer Vuitel: ? Dan Donohue: Fire away and i will try to answer. Avagene Moore: Our protocol for audience questions is to enter a question mark ? to indicate you wish to ask a question or make a comment. ... Avagene Moore: Then go ahead and compose your question to have it ready, but do NOT hit your Enter key or click on the Send button until you are recognized by name. ... Sunnie Baldwin: ? Avagene Moore: We will take questions in the order the question marks are sent to the screen. We are ready to begin now. Please input your ? now if you wish to ask a question. Avagene Moore: Sunnie, you will be first. Please submit your question when you are ready. Robert Eberth: ? Sunnie Baldwin: Is there a role that NGO's such as Red Cross and Salvation Army? Frank Fiedrich: ? Dan Donohue: Yes, in the EMA and survey areas... Donald thomas: ? Dan Donohue: Clearly, if they make predictable contributions they would be counted... Dan Donohue: And, there is the logistics component on scene and at the EOC. Sunnie Baldwin: Thanks! jeff phillips: ? Avagene Moore: I overlooked Jennifer. Jennifer, please. Jennifer Vuitel: Is it free and what type of environmental scenarios does it have? Louise Comfort: ? Dan Donohue: The software is free to any jurisdiction... Dan Donohue: There are environmental dimensions to the scenarios... Dan Donohue: although there is no "environmental" only scenario. Avagene Moore: Robert Eberth, you are next, sir. Robert Eberth: Is there any direct interface between AEAS and the response centers' own C2 displays or consoles? Dorothy Miller: ? Mike MANSCEN: ? Dan Donohue: As designed, AEAS is a stand alone product. It can be used in the EOC system, but runs as a separate program MAJ Dunlap: ? Avagene Moore: Frank Fiedrich, your question please. Frank Fiedrich: i have a techical question: what kind of simulation standard do you use and how do you simulate the actions realistically? Robert Eberth: ? Dan Donohue: There are several dimensions... Lauran Wikle: ? Dan Donohue: First the scenarios were modeled and validated based on the scientific data... Frank Candiano: ? Dan Donohue: Second, we used all existing standards available in the response communities... Dan Donohue: Third, where time standards were life impacting and did not exist we had "experts in the field" develop them for us. Avagene Moore: Donald Thomas, your turn now. Donald thomas: could you please speak to the training effort associated with the use of the software as well as the setup needed? Dan Donohue: Two parts... Dan Donohue: Training first... Dan Donohue: We are working with Justice to conduct training for 1000 controllers nationwide... Dan Donohue: That ius the person who runs the program... Dan Donohue: Second, setup is fairly simple... Dan Donohue: The program runs on a LAN system win NT/2000 Dan Donohue: The CD comes with user guides for all components and is pretty self explanatory. Avagene Moore: Jeff Phillips, please. jeff phillips: Akin to Robert's question, have there been requests/efforts to convert or use this as an operational tool or Decision Support System? Rebecca Head: ? Dan Donohue: The questions has been raised... Rebecca Head: Can I as the Public Health Emergency Preparedness Dircetor, orderr a copy? Dan Donohue: We did not have the funding to take it to that level this time around... Dan Donohue: Honestly, the effort was placed on delivering a usable product... Laura Lanosa: ? Dan Donohue: with a view to having editions2, 3... etc. Avagene Moore: Louise Comfort, your question, please. Louise Comfort: How do you validate the data collected from the surveys of participants? Dan Donohue: Rebecca, You can order a copy at the website. Isabel McCurdy: ? Dan Donohue: Louise--the data in the survey is validated at the jurisdiction level... Dan Donohue: We would expect each agency head to have a handle on his/her inventories and capabilities. Avagene Moore: Dorothy Miller, next please. Dorothy Miller: How long does it typically take to complete a simulation exercise considering 20 players? Dan Donohue: Typically, it will take 4 hours to complete a survey... Chris Fox: ? Dan Donohue: Approximately 2 hours to create a community profile... Dan Donohue: 2 to 4 hours to conduct player training... Dan Donohue: And four hours to conduct the exercise... Dan Donohue: About 2 to 4 hours for the AAR. Avagene Moore: Mike Manscen, your question now, sir. Mike MANSCEN: I had a demonstration from Matt Kraus, the system is terriffic. Is there a website I can go to for more info or techno help? Mike Bloxom: ? Dan Donohue: Yes--it is linked to our website--the one we listed earlier. Avagene Moore: Major Dunlap, please. MAJ Dunlap: What is the maintenance support concept for AEAS, in terms of both help desk support and product upgrades (PPSS), such as Decision Support? Dan Donohue: We are just fielding the system now... Mike MANSCEN: Sorry, I missed the address before. Mike Bloxom: Do you have a success story from the field from beta tests thus far? Dan Donohue: We are developing several upgrade models subject to funding... Sunnie Baldwin: ? Dan Donohue: We hope that training will address the training component, but we will have a phone number for help. Avagene Moore: Robert Eberth, you have another question for Dan - please submit now. Robert Eberth: You mentioned simulated outcomes are fed back based on participants' actions...how do you ensure those outcomes are valid (accurate predictions of what would occur in the real world) in order to preclude the possibility of "negative training?"? Dan Donohue: The address will be in the transcript. Derri Hanson: ? edward deleon: Sorry been bumped off but so I may have missed this but is there a mapping component and what does it consist of? Mike MANSCEN: ? Dan Donohue: Success stories most notable are from Story County IA and Weber County in Utah. Dan Donohue: Robert--All actions taken by player are recorded in sequence and time... Dan Donohue: The end state is focused on the sequencing and impact of action or inaction. MAJ Dunlap: ? Avagene Moore: (Anyone with a question, please input a question mark (?) if you wish to speak.) Laura is next. Laura Lanosa: Are the user guides and/or software available in different languages (i.e., Spanish) ? Dan Donohue: There is no right or wrong answer--only a consequence of the action/inaction. Mike Bloxom: Records in sequence and time allow the players to gage their appropriate response AKA decision making... yes? Amy Sebring: ? Dan Donohue: Laura--Right now all are in English... Dan Donohue: We would have no aversion to tramslations. Robert Eberth: O.K., but I'm asking about the validity of those consequences. Dan Donohue: Mike--yes Laura Lanosa: Thank you Dan Donohue: Mike--consequences are modeled... Dan Donohue: For instance... Dan Donohue: If mutual aid is brought through a deadly cloud, it may not make it alive... Dan Donohue: The consequence of the exposure, based on science, is real in terms of effect. Avagene Moore: Laura Wikle, please. (If you have follow on question, get back in line, please. Input a ? - very confusing for me and the speaker otherwise.)) Lauran Wikle: Is the software based on a chat room format to communicate during the exercise? Dan Donohue: The software has simulated e-mail and radio traffic generated by the players. edward deleon: ? Avagene Moore: Frank Candiano, please. Frank Candiano: Can you discuss applications for potential hospital use in support of WMD events? Dan Donohue: Frank... Robert Eberth: ? Dorothy Miller: ? Dan Donohue: The hospital component is not inclusive of patient care in the hospital... Dan Donohue: What the software does do is exercise the systems up to that point... Dan Donohue: For example... Dan Donohue: It forces the hospital to make contamination decisions... Dan Donohue: It forces security issues Dan Donohue: It forces inventory issues--respirators etc. Avagene Moore: Isabel, your question, please. Isabel McCurdy: Is this universal, Dan, would Canadians be able to use it? David Schwarz: ? Frank Candiano: Great. Thank you... Dan Donohue: Isabel...The intellectual and decision process is fairly universal.... Mike Bloxom: ? Dan Donohue: The protocols followed by jurisdictions are tailored to meet their needs in the exercise setup. Avagene Moore: Chris Fox, you are up now. Amy Sebring: Gone Ava. Avagene Moore: Think we lost Chris. Sunnie Baldwin is next. Sunnie Baldwin: Could the exercise be conducted from various workstations (remotely [verbiage?]), such as through a secure subcommunity of Disasterhelp.gov for those of us with no LAN and in rural areas? Dan Donohue: Sunnie--yes it could be, but... Dan Donohue: The purpose is to exercise the ICS/IMG and EOC together... Dan Donohue: It could be run at 20 remote locations, but we recognize that is not normally the way a response is conducted. Avagene Moore: Derrie Hanson, please. Sunnie Baldwin: Thanks! Right-but we have no facilities capable of such. so, we use what we have/thanks! Derri Hanson: Would this work to exercise a univsity/education? Dan Donohue: Derri--I believe it has applications to all communities... Dan Donohue: Universities are small or large communities unto themselves and face many of the same issues Avagene Moore: Edward Deleon, please. Avagene Moore: Ed, do you have a question for Dan? edward deleon: If there is a mapping component, what technology is that based on? Dan Donohue: Ed--there is a mapping component... Dan Donohue: It is a geotypical model... Dan Donohue: Plumes, equipment, etc actually move as the scenarios unfold and in response to player commands. Avagene Moore: Amy, your question, please. Amy Sebring: Dan for the transcript, I believe you earlier gave an email address to order which we will have in the transcript, but is there a Web site in addition? edward deleon: I mean does it use a geographic information system like ESRI etc.. and is there a programming interface to connect other products to it Dan Donohue: Amy--the address was the website--I will get it again in a minute jeff phillips: ? Amy Sebring: ok, thanks. Dan Donohue: Interested emergency response and emergency management officials may request a copy of the CD at https://firstmuster@ngb.army.mil/aeas Avagene Moore: Dan, do you want to answer to the rest of Ed's question? Dan Donohue: Ed--Sorry, I missed the followup... Dan Donohue: The system as currently configured does not, but it can be upgraded... Dan Donohue: We do not have the money to do that now, but some communities are considering tailoring it specifically to their communities. Avagene Moore: Robert Eberth, your question now, sir. Robert Eberth: From what you've said, I take it there is an "incident" and the responses are strictly to that incident and need not be concerned with the existence of a potentially reactive "OPFOR" that otherwise might, for example, have positioned second or third devices to take out responders. Correct? Dan Donohue: Robert--there are single events and secondary events--scenartio specific of course Amy Sebring: Here is a small section of a map http://www.emforum.org/vforum/aeas/slide06.htm Avagene Moore: Dorothy, please send your question to the screen now. Dan Donohue: Robert--we tried to design this real world to allow for the unfolding of events as they might in a real situation. Dorothy Miller: Derri just asked my question-I would like to apply it to a class in my certificate program and wanted to know it it could be used in that capacity. . Robert Eberth: ? Dan Donohue: Dorothy--drop me an e-mail at Daniel.Donohue@ngb.ang.af.mil and I will respond to your specific interest. Avagene Moore: David Schwarz, you are next. Dorothy Miller: Thank you. David Schwarz: Does the software provide recommendations at the conclusion of the scenario based on the decisions that were made? Or what the outcome may have been if a differant decision would have been made? Derri Hanson: ? Dan Donohue: David, the software can be run in three modes, assessment, training, tutored training... Dan Donohue: The AAR takes every action and compares it against an ideal standard... Dan Donohue: So there is potential help in the tutored training mode and in the AAR. Avagene Moore: Mike Bloxom, your question please. David Schwarz: Ok, thank-you Mike Bloxom: What is the availability of the software - are there restrictions? Where do we get? Approximate cost? Dan - so the CD contains everything we need to execute an internal exercise? I'm assuming it's free based on what I've read thus far... Amy - what happened to slide 5? Dan Donohue: Mike--yes it is free... Dan Donohue: It is available to juristictions at the site we posted... Q Frazier: ? Dan Donohue: It can not be used for profit and the intellectual material is copyrighted. Mike Bloxom: Thanks! Avagene Moore: Robert Eberth, please. jeff phillips: The address listed should be https://firstmuster.ngb.army.mil/aeas not @ngb - no question, statement only Robert Eberth: To follow up on your answer to my previous question: is it all pre-scripted or is the OPFOR reactive to participant actions during the running of the simulation? Dan Donohue: Robert--OPFOR is prescripted. Avagene Moore: Derri Hanson, please. Derri Hanson: Jeff answered my question about the web site not working. Avagene Moore: Q Frazier. you are next. Last question for today. Q Frazier: My question was answered by jeff phillips post. I could not get on the website indicated. now I understand why. Mike MANSCEN: How can the Army and MANSCEN help to secure more funding and a long term logistics tail for support? Email to robinmik@wood.army.mil or (573) 596-0131, ex 3-6257 Dan Donohue: Mike--I will work that with you offline. Avagene Moore: All right. We are out of time. Dan, we appreciate your time and effort on our behalf today. If you will allow me to make a couple of announcements ... Avagene Moore: If interested in partnering with the EIIP, please see http://www.emforum.org/partners/criteria.htm . Avagene Moore: We will have the transcript of today's session posted later this afternoon. Please look for it then. Avagene Moore: Thanks to everyone for participating today - you have been a great audience - and ... Avagene Moore: Please help us thank Dan Donohue for his fine presentation. Dan, you did a great job! I am sure many communities will order AEAS! Thank you! Avagene Moore: The EIIP Virtual Forum is adjourned!