Exercise Overview

Exercises are a key component of local, State, and national preparedness. Exercises play a vital role in preparedness by enabling community stakeholders to test and validate plans and capabilities to achieve those plans and identify both capability gaps and areas for improvement. A well-designed exercise provides a low-risk environment to test capabilities, familiarize personnel with roles and responsibilities, and foster meaningful interaction and communications across organizations to help ensure safer and better-prepared communities to meet the challenges of future emergencies or disasters.

The State's All-Hazards Exercise Program is administered and coordinated by GOHSEP. Guidance for program development, content, and exercise design is derived from the Homeland Security Exercise Evaluation Program (HSEEP) developed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Click the HSEEP icon to view the HSEEP Guide. 

Other HSEEP documents can be found in the HSEEP Tool Kit.
 
HSEEP is capabilities- and performance-based guidance for the design, development, implementation, evaluation – and improvement – of exercise programs. As of 2009, the conduct of HSEEP-compliant exercises is a required component for most DHS and Federal preparedness grants.

Whole community approach

Like emergency operations and other planning, exercise activities should reflect a collaborative approach, representing the whole community. A whole community approach is one that is inclusive not only of Federal partners but also local, State, Tribal, and Territorial partners; nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) like faith-based and nonprofit groups and private-sector industry, individuals, families, and communities, who continue to be the Nation’s most important assets as first responders during an emergency or disaster.

Multi-year approach

Exercise development and implementation should occur within the framework of a multi-year training and exercise program. The State of Louisiana Multi-year Training + Exercise Plan guides those efforts.

The State of Louisiana Multiyear Training + Exercise Plan identifies seven (7) priority focus areas:

• Priority 1 Interoperability
• Priority 2 Maritime Security
• Priority 3 Information Sharing
• Priority 4 Resiliency
• Priority 5 Response
• Priority 6 Infrastructure Protection
• Priority 7 Human Services

The Homeland Security Exercise Evaluation Program (HSEEP) provides all the tools necessary to develop an exercise to validate your EOP and identify areas of improvement.

Regional + Parish exercise support

GOHSEP Training + Exercise Branch supports Regional and Parish exercises to the extent funding and manpower allow. Support can be for the entire exercise or portions of it.  Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (OHSEP) Directors who wish to request support need to submit a completed Request for State Support Form.  To notify GOHSEP of an exercise event, complete and submit the Exercise Notification Report. 

GOHSEP's Exercise branch supports Regional and Parish Exercises to the extent possible as funding and manpower are provided. All requests for support or notification of an exercise can be sent to GOHSEP's Exercise Branch at:

• [email protected]
• or faxed to (225) 925-7501
• or mailed to: 7667 Independence Boulevard, Baton Rouge, LA 70806

HSEEP approach to exercise planning

• Exercises are guided by elected and appointed officials.
• Exercises are capability-based and objective-driven.
• Exercises take a progressive planning approach, increasing complexity over time.
• Exercises include whole community integration.
• Exercises are informed by risk.
• Exercises are developed using a common methodology.