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Release Date: 03/28/05 00:00:00
Top Officials 3 (TOPOFF 3) is the most comprehensive terrorism response exercise ever conducted in the United States. The full-scale exercise, taking place in the United States from April 4-8, 2005, will involve participants from international, federal, state, local, tribal, and private sector agencies and non-governmental organizations. In the United States, participants will respond to simulated, simultaneous and multi-point attacks taking place in Connecticut and New Jersey.
TOPOFF 3 is a congressionally mandated exercise series managed by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of State and Local Government Coordination and Preparedness.
The state of New Jersey is one of the two state venues selected to participate in TOPOFF 3. During the week of April 4-8, 2005, New Jersey will be testing the ability of its state and local government to plan for and respond to a biological attack.
Specifically, the exercise will test the state’s ability to coordinate inter-agency preparedness and response plans to a biological response, conduct epidemiological investigations, criminal investigations, supply medication to ill patients and deploy assets statewide.
New Jersey will use this full-scale exercise to examine the preparedness and response plans at the state and local levels, as well as interactions with the Federal government and private sector.
New Jersey will be the first state ever to have statewide participation in a TOPOFF exercise. Although the exercise will initially focus on Union and Middlesex counties. Participation will include more than a dozen municipalities and all 21 New Jersey counties.
State participation is sponsored by the Domestic Security Preparedness Task Force, the state body responsible for developing New Jersey’s homeland security policy and for coordinating its implementation. State agencies participating include the Office of the Governor, the Office of the Attorney General/Department of Law and Public Safety, the New Jersey State Police, the Department of Health and Senior Services, the State Office of Emergency Management, the Officeof Counter Terrorism, the Office of the State Medical Examiner, the Office of Information Technology, the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, the Department of Environmental Protection, the State Board of Public Utilities, the Department of Human Services, the Department of Corrections, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Treasury, the Department of Community Affairs, and the Department of Agriculture.
Eighty four hospitals, 22 Local Information Network Communications Systems (LINCS) agencies, all 21 counties, and hundreds of local health departments, government agencies, law enforcement agencies, first responders, academic institutions and businesses will participate.
For More Information:
Key New Jersey Contacts for Public Information:
Roger Shatzkin
New Jersey Office of Attorney General/Domestic Security Preparedness Task Force
609-292-4791
Paul Loriquet
New Jersey Office of Attorney General
609-292-4791
Gretchen Michael
New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services
609-984-7160
Tom Slater
New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services
609-984-7160
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Mar. 28, 2005
This page was last reviewed/modified on 03/28/05 00:00:00.