The EDEN Exercise Team is hosting a pre-conference workshop entitled " Extension Educators Role in ICS During Disasters." This workshop offering includes breakfast, lunch, snack breaks and an afteroon tabletop exercise.
The ICS Training/Tabletop Exercise will be sponsored by the Mississippi Office of Homeland Security. The Coastal Communities Resilience training is being paid for by the National Disaster Preparedness Training Center.
The morning session will examine Extension Service roles in the National Incident Management System/Incident Command System and will offer lessons learned from Extension Service personnel who have responded during natural and man-made disasters across the country.
Participants will assemble as teams during lunch at "county" tables representing states in the Cenral U.S., and then a three-module tabletop exercise allowing participants to demonstrate their skills in resolving problems presented by a multi-day disaster scenario will follow.
Each table will have scenario outlines for players; and facilitators will assist to prevent a single problem from derailing or consuming all of the team's efforts in one particular area of response and recovery.
The exercise will finish with a review of responses to the scenario and what lessons learned might be taken away from the exercise. It will be a "no-fault," and hopefully fun examination of what we have experienced and are learning in our roles as responders and Extension educators.
Linda Williams, EDEN Exercise Committee Chair, and Conne Burnham, EDEN Exercise Committee member and representing University of Missouri, will coordinate the day's events.
Session will adjourn in time for the Poster Session/Opening Reception sponsored by EDEN partner National Center for Biomedical Research and Training.