VCU news

By Mike Porter

Senior students pursuing an undergraduate degree in Virginia Commonwealth University's homeland security and emergency preparedness program will participate in a daylong tabletop exercise designed to test their skills.

Reporters are invited to interview participants and observe a portion of the exercise on Monday, April 16, from 12:45 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. at the Richmond Ambulance Authority, 2400 Hermitage Road. To take advantage of this unique opportunity to visit the interior of the City of Richmond's emergency operations center complex, members of the media should arrive early to allow for parking and check-in.

The tabletop exercise will be a scenario-driven exercise to test the 26 students' ability to coordinate a response in the areas of emergency management, intelligence fusion, firefighting, external affairs, public safety and public health and medical resources.

As the exercise progresses, students will be challenged to respond to new information about these potential threats and at the same time manage resources for a variety of local emergencies. Professional mentors, including police, fire and emergency services personnel from both the City of Richmond and Henrico County will provide guidance for the students.  The City of Richmond's support in allowing the exercise to be held in the Emergency Operations Center will provide a real world environment for the students.

L-3 Communications Services Group, a communications and surveillance products and services company, has supported the development of the exercise and will offer its modeling and simulation software to help students manage regional emergency response assets as they establish police roadblocks, direct fire and EMS units and coordinate potential evacuations. 

VCU was the first major research university in the country to develop a homeland security and emergency preparedness undergraduate degree and will offer a master's program beginning next fall.