Civil defense or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state from human-made and natural disasters. It uses the principles of emergency operations: prevention, mitigation, preparation, response, or emergency evacuation and recovery. Programs of this sort were initially discussed at least as early as the 1920s and were implemented in some countries during the 1930s as the threat of war and aerial bombardment grew. Civil-defense structures became widespread after authorities recognised the threats posed by nuclear weapons.
Chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear defense or Nuclear, biological, and chemical protection is protective measures taken in situations in which chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear hazards may be present. CBRN defense consists of CBRN passive protection, contamination avoidance, and weapons of mass destruction mitigation.
Exercise Red Dragon is a recurring civil defense readiness exercise conducted in Fort McCoy, Wisconsin held during the summer, training Army Reserve, National Guard units, and civilian agencies, such as fire departments, police stations, hospitals, and non-governmental organizations to improve the Defense Support of Civil Authorities capabilities for large-scale chemical defense missions.
The Federal Protective Service (FPS) is a federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS). It is also "the federal agency charged with protecting and delivering integrated law enforcement and security services to facilities owned or leased by the General Services Administration (GSA)"—over 9,000 buildings—and their occupants.
The Special Operations Engineer Regiment (SOER) is a specialised unit of the Australian Army. The regiment forms part of the Special Operations Command. The unit was formed in 2002 as the Incident Response Regiment (IRR), they are deployed to respond to chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or explosive incidents. The regiment was transferred into the newly raised Special Operations Command in 2003. In 2010 and 2011, its role changed to supporting the army's special forces units, and it was renamed accordingly.
The 20th CBRNE Command is the United States Army headquarters for defense against Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and high-yield Explosives (CBRNE), headquartered on the site of the defunct Edgewood Arsenal chemical weapons production facility at Aberdeen Proving Ground in northern Maryland.
The Massachusetts State Defense Force (MSDF) is the currently inactive state defense force of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It was inactivated in 2016 by Governor Charlie Baker. The purpose of the Massachusetts State Defense Force, when active, is to augment the Massachusetts National Guard during emergencies in the state, especially when some or all of the National Guard was deployed. The MSDF is an all-volunteer militia which reported to the State Adjutant General and was under the command of the Governor of Massachusetts. Members met for drills one weekend per month unless activated by the Governor during an emergency. The MSDF was headquartered at Milford, Massachusetts, in the same building as the Massachusetts National Guard. The director of the MSDF was appointed by the Adjutant General of Massachusetts (TAGMA). The Massachusetts State Defense Force is authorized by both the Constitution of Massachusetts and chapter 33 § 10 of the Massachusetts General Laws.
Joint Task Force Civil Support (JTF-CS) is a subordinate command of United States Northern Command headquartered at Fort Eustis. Its mission is to provide command and control for Department of Defense forces deployed in support of the National Response Plan, specifically, managing the consequences of a domestic chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or high-yield explosive (CBRNE) incident. JTFCS consists of discrete units of specialized consequence management troops from all services called the DOD CBRN Response Forces (DCRF), as well as civilian subject matter experts, assigned from various agencies. JTF-CS is able to respond anywhere in North America within 12 hours to lead technical and non-technical search and rescue, security, hazard analysis, evidence collection, mission command, logistics support, aviation support, and medical support after an actual or threatened CBRNE incident. JTF-CS is also a collaborative partner in planning for and responding to identified National Special Security Events (NSSE) around the United States.
The Oklahoma Office of Homeland Security (OKOHS) is an agency of State of Oklahoma that is responsible for reducing the State's vulnerability to acts of terrorism and for minimizing and recovering the damage caused by terrorist attacks. OKOHS is a division of the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety.
The Chemical Biological Incident Response Force (CBIRF) is a Marine Corps unit responsible for countering the effects of a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or high-yield explosive (CBRNE) incident, support counter CBRN terrorism, and urban search and rescue when CBRN incident. They were activated in April 1996 by General Charles C. Krulak, then Commandant of the Marine Corps. The unit is based at Naval Support Facility Indian Head in Indian Head, Maryland and falls under the command of the United States Marine Corps Forces Command.
The Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP) is the only U.S. federal facility chartered to provide comprehensive preparedness training programs to the nation's emergency response providers. The facility, located in Calhoun County, Alabama, provides all-hazards training to approximately 50,000 emergency responders annually, or a total of 1.1 million responders since its inception in 1998. Trainees hail from state, local, tribal, territorial, and federal governments, as well as private entities. Training for state, local, tribal, and territorial governments are entirely funded by the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), whereas responders for foreign federal governments and private entities may be trained on a fee-for-service basis.
A mass casualty incident describes an incident in which emergency medical services resources, such as personnel and equipment, are overwhelmed by the number and severity of casualties. For example, an incident where a two-person crew is responding to a motor vehicle collision with three severely injured people could be considered a mass casualty incident. The general public more commonly recognizes events such as building collapses, train and bus collisions, plane crashes, earthquakes and other large-scale emergencies as mass casualty incidents. Events such as the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, the September 11 attacks in 2001, and the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013 are well-publicized examples of mass casualty incidents. The most common types of MCIs are generally caused by terrorism, mass-transportation accidents, fires or natural disasters. A multiple casualty incident is one in which there are multiple casualties. The key difference from a mass casualty incident is that in a multiple casualty incident the resources available are sufficient to manage the needs of the victims. The issue of resource availability is therefore critical to the understanding of these concepts. One crosses over from a multiple to a mass casualty incident when resources are exceeded and the systems are overwhelmed.
Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP) is a program in the United States established in 2003 and was designated to incorporate all projects that provide funding to local, state, and Federal government agencies by the Department of Homeland Security. The purpose of the grants is to purchase surveillance equipment, weapons, and advanced training for law enforcement personnel in order to heighten security. The HSGP helps fulfill one of the core missions of the Department of Homeland Security by enhancing the country's ability to prepare for, prevent, respond to and recover from potential attacks and other hazards. The HSGP is one of the main mechanisms in funding the creation and maintenance of national preparedness, which refers to the establishment of plans, procedures, policies, training, and equipment at the Federal, State, and local level that is needed to maximize the ability to prevent, respond to, and recover from major events such as terrorist attacks, major disasters, and other emergencies. The HSGP's creation stemmed from the consolidation of six original projects that were previously funded by the Office of State and Local Government Coordination and Preparedness. The HSGP now encompasses five projects in the program: State Homeland Security Program, Urban Areas Security Initiative, Operation Stonegarden, Metropolitan Medical Response System Program, and Citizen Corps Program. During the 2010 fiscal year, the Department of Homeland Security will spend $1,786,359,956 on the Homeland Security Grant Program.
The Georgia Department of Defense is a state agency charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the Georgia National Guard. Headquartered at Clay National Guard Center in Marietta, Georgia, the Georgia Department of Defense includes the Georgia Army National Guard, the Georgia Air National Guard, and the Georgia State Defense Force.
The 201st Regional Support Group is a regional support group of the United States Army and the Georgia Army National Guard. It was established as of October 1, 2013 from the former 78th Homeland Response Force. It is formally designated the "'Region IV HRF / 201st RSG"'. On November 1, 2010, the 201st RSG became the 201st Homeland Response Force. On October 1, 2013, it took its current designation.
National Response Scenario Number One is the United States federal government's planned response to a small scale nuclear attack. It is one of the National Response Scenarios developed by the United States Department of Homeland Security, considered the most likely of fifteen emergency scenarios to impact the United States. The Scenarios are related to the National Response Framework (NRF), which describes the structures and mechanisms of a response and the National Incident Management System (NIMS) that gives a framework to orchestrate emergency management. The scenario anticipates terrorists detonating a single, 10 kiloton weapon in a major city, as opposed to a full-scale nuclear war, in which a foreign power such as Russia or China would detonate hundreds or thousands of weapons.
The Emergency Management (EM) career field is the United States Air Force's (USAF) primary organization responsible for implementing an installation-level EM program. Emergency Managers, also known by the Air Force Specialty Code (AFSC) 3E9X1, are the Air Force's subject matter experts for all non-medical Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) passive defense and consequence management matters.
During wartime operations, 3E9X1s are assigned to CBRN reconnaissance teams responsible for detecting, identifying, quantifying, and collecting CBRN material ensuring mission continuation and force survivability.
The National Domestic Preparedness Consortium (NDPC) is a training partner and established training arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security DHS/FEMA. It is a professional alliance of seven national institutions and organizations that work to develop and deliver training, technical assistance, plan assessments, and exercises to emergency responders and first receivers at the territories, state, local and tribal levels. The members were chosen for their unique knowledge bases in the areas of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, explosive, medical, critical infrastructure, and incident management, and have enhanced their core competencies at the request of DHS and FEMA to include other areas as well. The following is a list of the NDPC members and their core competencies:
No. 49 Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear and Explosive Wing was established in 2016 at the SLAF Bandaranayake. The unit's first Commanding Officer was Squadron Leader Nilendra Perera, who continues to hold this office. The wing is equipped with modern equipment required to counter chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high yield explosive threats.
