On behalf of the Department of Energy Nevada Operations Office the host and the Department of Justice the sponsor, we are pleased to invite emergency responders to attend the Nevada Test Site WMD Terrorism Responder training courses listed below:

All courses are conducted at no tuition cost to the student by Bechtel Nevada, the Managing and Operating Contractor for the Department of Energy's Nevada Test Site. Travel and per diem expenses are paid for by the Department of Justice in accordance with the federal joint travel regulation.

Each course will consist of 40 students. You may request to send individual responders, response teams or elements of teams from the same jurisdiction or municipality. Our WMD training courses and exercises emphasize scenario driven, hands-on, field oriented practical exercises and the training audience consists of combined participation by fire, law enforcement, medical and emergency management personnel. A brief description of each course follows.

WMD Responder Operations Course

This course is a four-day (32 hour) training course addressing Emergency Response to Weapons of Mass Destruction Terrorism at the Operations level of competency for emergency responders, including fire, law enforcement, medical and emergency management personnel. The objective is to provide emergency responders with knowledge of the threat and appropriate responses that they may respond to the event site and mitigate the consequences of WMD terrorism. This course will include classroom instruction, team-building drills and a set of practical exercises to develop skills of emergency responders to recognize, categorize, and respond to WMD terrorism. In general, the course will cover the threat (terrorist methods and modus operandi); characteristics of various types of WMD; operational parameters of the various WMD agents; hazard-appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE); procedures to recognize, identify and use proper instruments for identification and measurement of WMD threats/contamination; control, containment and confinement techniques (includes casualty handling); and decontamination procedures. The training will prepare students to respond to a WMD incident, to mitigate its effects, and to contain it without becoming victims themselves.

• 32 instruction hours (4 days) in duration
• Approximately 14 hours of classroom instruction and 18 hours of scenario driven, hands-on field practical exercises (PE)
• Addresses response to radiological/nuclear, chemical, biological and high explosive terrorist events
• Includes PE after action reviews, student critique and certificate presentation
• Enrollment prerequisite desired - WMD Awareness level training

WMD Incident Command Operations Course:

The course is a three-day (24 hour) training course on WMD - Incident Operations for on-scene Incident Commanders and Incident Command Post staffs, including fire, law enforcement and EMS, and key emergency management personnel. The course will provide classroom instruction, team-building drills, and a set of practical exercises to enhance the understanding and capabilities of the local Incident Command system to recognize, categorize, and respond to WMD terrorism incidents. This course will focus on tactical considerations for WMD terrorist incident site management; to include operations, logistics, planning, medical, and coordination of local, state, and federal response resources. In general, the course will cover: the threat (terrorist methods) characteristics of various types of WMD; operational parameters of the various WMD's risk assessment methodologies; hazard-appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE); control, containment and confinement techniques; decontamination procedures management of emergency response assets, teams and agencies and decision-making processes and federal asset integration.

• 24 instruction hours (3 days) in duration
• Designed for incident command team members and emergency managers
• Approximately 12 hours of classroom instruction and 12 hours of scenario driven, hands-on field oriented practical exercises
• Addresses management of radiological/nuclear, chemical, biological and high explosive terrorist events
• Includes PE after actions reviews, student critique and certificate presentation
• Enrollment prerequisite desired - WMD Awareness Level Training

WMD Radiation/Nuclear Agents Course

This course is a three-day (24 hour) training course on Radiological/Nuclear agents at the Technician level of competency for emergency responders including HAZMAT, Fire, EOD, and EMS personnel. The objective is to provide emergency responder technicians with an extensive knowledge of the threat and appropriate responses at a competency level above operational, so that they may respond to a site to protect nearby persons, property or the environment from the consequences of terrorist use of radiological/nuclear agents. The course will provide classroom instruction, and practical exercises to enhance the understanding and capabilities of Emergency responder technicians to recognize, categorize, and respond to WMD terrorism operations using radiological/nuclear agents. In general, the course will cover the threat (terrorist methods and modus operandi); characteristics of various types of radiological/nuclear agents; (low and high level radiation) risk assessment methodologies; hazard survey and appropriate personal protective equipment; control, containment and confinement techniques (including casualty handling); and decontamination procedures. The training will prepare students to respond, to mitigate hazard effects, to contain the contamination without becoming victims themselves and to provide essential elements of hazard information to incident management personnel.

• 24 instruction hours (3 day) in duration
• Designed to train technicians level response
• Approximately 12 hours of classroom instruction and 12 hours of scenario driven, hands-on, field oriented practical exercises
• Addresses response to radiological/nuclear, and high explosive terrorist events
• Enrollment prerequisite desired - WMD Awareness and Operational level training

Please distribute this invitation to municipalities within your jurisdiction. This announcement is sent to your level to allow you to control and administer the selection of students from your jurisdiction. If you prefer, we can deal with your subordinate municipalities directly to generate a training audiences for our courses. Please have WMD responders apply for enrollment by filling out and submitting the two forms enclosed, or contact the numbers listed below. Students selected for each course will receive a packet of detailed administrative information as well as course read-ahead material. Students will make their own air travel arrangements after coordination with our admin personnel of most favorable costs. Since lower airfares depend on early reservations, expedition action to identify students is desired. Courses are filling fast.

Points of contact: For additional course or enrollment information contact Marcene Raymer at (702) 295-8907, fax: (702) 295-8764, email: raymer@nv.doe.gov, or Elsia Gorden at (702) 295-8777, fax (702) 295-8764, email: gordene1@nv.doe.gov., or you may contact me at (702) 295-2242, email: dinsedw@nv.doe.gov.

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