Operation Gotham Shield

Last updated

Operation Gotham Shield
Part of the National Exercise Program
TypeExercise
DateApril 23, 2017 (2017-04-23)
Executed by Federal Emergency Management Agency

Operation Gotham Shield was a 2017 exercise conducted by the United States Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) which tested civil defense response capabilities to a nuclear weapons attack against the New York City metropolitan area.

Contents

Background

Operation Gotham Shield imagined a nuclear detonation at the New Jersey-side entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel (pictured). Lincolntunnel.jpg
Operation Gotham Shield imagined a nuclear detonation at the New Jersey-side entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel (pictured).

Operation Gotham Shield occurred over the course of four days, from April 23 to 27, 2017, and was part of FEMA's National Exercise Program. [1]

The operation involved the hypothetical ground burst of a nuclear device at the New Jersey-side entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel, resulting in "hundreds of thousands" of killed and injured persons and 4.5 million refugees from the initial blast and subsequent fallout. [2] [3] [4]

Due to the location of the simulated attack, the operation scenario assumed the disablement or destruction of FEMA's Region II Regional Response Coordination Center [lower-alpha 1] which required transfer of command functions to the Region V Regional Response Coordination Center. [lower-alpha 2] [1] In the final phases of the exercise, a hypothetical "massive influx" of refugees from the attack "overwhelmed" the resources of neighboring states. [1]

Participating agencies

In addition to FEMA, other agencies and organizations which participated in the exercise included the Morris County Office of Emergency Management, the New Jersey National Guard, the Military Auxiliary Radio System, the Metro Urban Search and Rescue Strike Team, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the FBI, the New Jersey State Police, various municipal departments of the City of New York, and others. [1] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]

Other activities

Gotham Shield occurred simultaneous with several partnered exercises testing the responsiveness of different agencies of the United States in the fulfillment of their own organizational priorities as they would apply to the core attack scenario, including Vibrant Response (led by United States Army North), Prominent Hunt 17-1 (led by the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office), and Fuerzas Amigas (a joint planning event of the Mexican Armed Forces and United States Armed Forces). [11]

Ardent Sentry 17 (led by the Northern Command), was another simultaneous operation which focused on military aid to the civil power, specifically "marshalling simulated forces". [13] It was a command post exercise with staff operating from a primary command post at the 42nd Infantry Division headquarters in Troy, and a redundancy command post at the New York National Guard Joint Force Headquarters in Latham. [13] It was overseen by General Timothy LaBarge of the New York National Guard who was given "dual status command", or authority to command both State of New York and United States military forces. [13]

Meanwhile, Canada conducted an overlapping exercise, Staunch Maple 17, whose scenario involved simultaneous "nuclear threats" in Ottawa and Halifax. It also involved the friendly intervention of U.S. military forces into eastern Canada. [14] [15] [16] Unlike Gotham Shield, Canada's Department of National Defence did not publicly describe the scenario around which Staunch Maple 17 was based, but media outlets would later cite sources who confirmed it involved a "nuclear event" and was a test of scaled contingency plans the country had involving "a wide range of scenarios involving attacks on Canada, including a missile attack." [14] [16]

Conspiracy theories

Operation Gotham Shield was billed as a "false flag" by some conspiracy theorists, who predicted it was designed to cover up a planned, actual nuclear weapons attack against the New York metropolitan area, or as distraction from a planned U.S. nuclear weapons attack against North Korea. [17] [18] The British tabloid Daily Express , meanwhile, propagated a different take on the conspiracy theory which hypothesized that "a major incident will happen to US President Donald Trump on Wednesday" (the date of the first day of Gotham Shield). [19]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ FEMA's Region II is responsible for New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands of the United States, and eight tribal nations. [5]
  2. ↑ FEMA's Region V is normally responsible for Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Civil defense</span> Protection of citizens from natural disaster and military attack

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.

Continuity of Operations (COOP) is a United States federal government initiative, required by U.S. Presidential Policy Directive 40 (PPD-40), to ensure that agencies are able to continue performance of essential functions under a broad range of circumstances. PPD-40 specifies certain requirements for continuity plan development, including the requirement that all federal executive branch departments and agencies develop an integrated, overlapping continuity capability, that supports the eight National Essential Functions (NEFs) described in the document.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federal Emergency Management Agency</span> United States disaster response agency, part of Department of Homeland Security

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Executive Orders on April 1, 1979. The agency's primary purpose is to coordinate the response to a disaster that has occurred in the United States and that overwhelms the resources of local and state authorities. The governor of the state in which the disaster occurs must declare a state of emergency and formally request from the President that FEMA and the federal government respond to the disaster. The only exception to the state's gubernatorial declaration requirement occurs when an emergency or disaster takes place on federal property or to a federal asset—for example, the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, or the Space Shuttle Columbia in the 2003 return-flight disaster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emergency Alert System</span> Method of emergency broadcasting in the United States

The Emergency Alert System (EAS) is a national warning system in the United States designed to allow authorized officials to broadcast emergency alerts and warning messages to the public via cable, satellite, or broadcast television, and both AM/FM and satellite radio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DEFCON</span> Alert posture used by the United States Armed Forces

The defense readiness condition (DEFCON) is an alert state used by the United States Armed Forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CBRN defense</span> Protective measures against hazardous materials warfare

Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defense or NBC protection are protective measures taken in situations in which chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear hazards may be present. CBRN defence consists of CBRN passive protection, contamination avoidance, and weapons of mass destruction mitigation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emergency management</span> Dealing with all humanitarian aspects of emergencies

Emergency management or disaster management is the managerial function charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Emergency management, despite its name, does not actually focus on the management of emergencies, which can be understood as minor events with limited impacts and are managed through the day-to-day functions of a community. Instead, emergency management focuses on the management of disasters, which are events that produce more impacts than a community can handle on its own. The management of disasters tends to require some combination of activity from individuals and households, organizations, local, and/or higher levels of government. Although many different terminologies exist globally, the activities of emergency management can be generally categorized into preparedness, response, mitigation, and recovery, although other terms such as disaster risk reduction and prevention are also common. The outcome of emergency management is to prevent disasters and where this is not possible, to reduce their harmful impacts.

On September 11, 2001, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) was involved in an ongoing operation which involved deploying fighter aircraft to northeastern North America. The U.S. Military and NORAD had also planned to conduct several military exercises and a drill was being held by the National Reconnaissance Office, a Department of Defense agency. The operations, exercises and drills were all canceled following the September 11 attacks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Northern Command</span> Unified combatant command of the United States Armed Forces

United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) is one of eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense. The command is tasked with providing military support for non-military authorities in the U.S., and protecting the territory and national interests of the United States within the continental United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, The Bahamas, and the air, land and sea approaches to these areas. It is the U.S. military command which, if applicable, would be the primary defender against an invasion of the U.S.

The National Response Plan (NRP) was a United States national plan to respond to emergencies such as natural disasters or terrorist attacks. It came into effect in December 2004, and was superseded by the National Response Framework on March 22, 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York City Emergency Management</span> New York City government agency

New York City Emergency Management (NYCEM) was originally formed in 1996 as part of the Mayor's Office under Rudolph W. Giuliani. By a vote of city residents in 2001 it became an independent agency, headed by the commissioner of emergency management. In 2006 the office was reorganized under the deputy mayor for administration by Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Force</span> Task force in American emergency management

A FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Force is a team of individuals specializing in urban search and rescue, disaster recovery, and emergency triage and medicine. The teams are deployed to emergency and disaster sites within six hours of notification. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) created the Task Force concept to provide support for large scale disasters in the United States. FEMA provides financial, technical and training support for the Task Forces as well as creating and verifying the standards of Task Force personnel and equipment.

National Counter-Terrorism Exercises involve the Australian Federal Government and all States and Territories designed to test Australia's counter-terrorism response arrangements. Australia's national counter-terrorism arrangements are well practised with major exercises held annually. The Department of Home Affairs manages the Counter-Terrorism Capability Branch in the Centre for Counter-Terrorism Coordination which supports the Australia-New Zealand Counter-Terrorism Committee (ANZCTC) who run the exercise program. The exercise was formerly named National Anti-Terrorism Exercise (NATEX).

The National Emergency Technology Guard (NET Guard) is a conceptual corps of volunteers with technology experience that help out after disasters in the United States. It is codified under Public Law 107–296 on November 25, 2002 as part of the creation of the Department of Homeland Security created by the Homeland Security Act of 2002. In 2018, Public Law No: 115-278 was codified to amend the authority of creating NET Guard to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Nanook</span> Annual Canadian Armed Forces sovereignty operation

Operation Nanook is an annual sovereignty operation and manoeuvre warfare exercise conducted by the Canadian Armed Forces in the Arctic. Sovereignty patrols in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and northern Canada are conducted by the Canadian Rangers, Canadian Coast Guard in tandem with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The exercise portion is intended to train the different elements of the Canadian Armed Forces to operate in the Arctic environment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homeland Security Grant Program</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Response Scenario Number One</span> US government protocol against a nuclear attack

National Response Scenario Number One is the United States federal government's planned response to a 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 Jade Helm 15 conspiracy theories were based on the Jade Helm 15 United States military training exercise which took place in multiple U.S. states between July 15 and September 15, 2015. The exercise, which involved 1,200 personnel from four of the five branches of the U.S. military, was designed to train soldiers in skills needed to operate in overseas combat environments, including maneuvering through civilian populations. The announcements of these training exercises raised concerns and generated conspiracy theories that the exercise was a hostile military takeover.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pete Gaynor</span> American government official (born 1958)

Peter Thomas Gaynor is an American Certified Emergency Manager who served briefly as acting Secretary of Homeland Security under President Trump. Gaynor previously served as administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). He was appointed as Acting Administrator by President Donald Trump on March 8, 2019, and became Administrator on January 16, 2020.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "GOTHAM SHIELD LEVEL 1 EXERCISE" (PDF). usda.gov. U.S. Department of Agriculture. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 7, 2018. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  2. ↑ "Feds prep for nuclear attack in NJ". WNYW-TV . April 26, 2017. Archived from the original on January 7, 2018. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Public Health Actions to Prepare for an Effective Radiological/Nuclear Response" (PDF). cdc.gov. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 9, 2017. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  4. ↑ "FEMA National Advisory Council May 2017 Meeting Minutes NAC" (PDF). fema.gov. FEMA. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 8, 2018. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  5. ↑ "Region II". fema.gov. FEMA. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  6. ↑ "Region V". fema.gov. FEMA. Archived from the original on November 19, 2017. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  7. ↑ "New Jersey agencies participate in FEMA's 'Gotham Shield' nuclear attack drill". news12.com. News 12 New Jersey. Archived from the original on January 7, 2018. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  8. ↑ "NJ Army National Guard Supports Gotham Shield Aerial Survey Of NYC". fema.gov. FEMA. Archived from the original on January 7, 2018. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Upcoming Army MARS Communication Exercises Highlighted at Regional Conference". arrl.org. American Radio Relay League. Archived from the original on January 7, 2018. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  10. ↑ Hochran, Adam (April 24, 2017). "An explosion at the NYC tunnels?". WKXW-FM . Archived from the original on August 29, 2017. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  11. 1 2 "Understanding the Office of Intelligence, Security, and Emergency Response (S-60)". transportation.gov. U.S. Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on January 7, 2018. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  12. ↑ Kanzler, Kaitlyn (April 24, 2017). "Federal, state agencies testing readiness for nuclear attack". northjersey.com. Archived from the original on June 11, 2017. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  13. 1 2 3 "Emergency-Response Training in Ardent Sentry 17" (PDF). Guard Times Magazine. Spring 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 8, 2018. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  14. 1 2 "N.S. hosts nuclear emergency exercise". Chronicle Herald. April 24, 2017. Archived from the original on January 7, 2018. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  15. ↑ "Military helicopters to fly low across Nova Scotia this week, including American Black Hawk". Metro. April 24, 2017. Archived from the original on January 8, 2018. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  16. 1 2 Brewster, Murray (November 30, 2017). "Canada, U.S. held joint exercises simulating nuclear attack on both sides of border". MSN . Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on January 8, 2018. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  17. ↑ LaCapria, Kim. "What is Operation Gotham Shield?". snopes.com. Snopes . Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  18. ↑ Faife, Corin (April 25, 2017). "Reddit's Conspiracy Theorists Think World War III Will Begin Today". Vice . Archived from the original on January 7, 2018. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  19. ↑ "Shock radio broadcast sparks fears Donald Trump will be attacked on Wednesday". Daily Express . April 24, 2017. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.