The Federal Emergency Management Agency met today with state homeland security advisors, state emergency management directors and participants from the Top Officials 4 exercise held in October 2007 to discuss preliminary exercise observations. During the meeting, held in Oklahoma City at the Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism, officials briefed out and released preliminary exercise observations and lessons learned from TOPOFF 4.

"This meeting brings together key stakeholders from a nation-wide community of emergency managers and allows the sharing of preliminary information that enables us all to build on our National Exercise Program successes," said FEMA's Deputy Administrator for Preparedness Dennis Schrader. "This gathering not only pulls together the original participants from TOPOFF 4, but it also allows for the sharing of lessons learned with officials from around the country."

At the conclusion of TOPOFF 4, participants in the full scale exercise presented their initial impressions and identified major findings during a series of "hot-wash" briefings. The results of the briefings combined with an initial analysis of exercise play and inputs from participating departments and agencies were compiled into the official TOPOFF 4 Quick Look Report (QLR). The QLR summarizes the initial findings from the TOPOFF 4 exercise for the general public while providing stakeholders with the necessary material to begin a more detailed and comprehensive after action review process. The QLR focuses on five DHS capabilities, including: Intelligence/Information; On-Site Incident Management; Emergency Operations Center Management; Emergency Public Information and Warning; and Economic and Community Recovery.

TOPOFF 4 was conducted Oct. 15–19, 2007, and involved more than 23,000 federal, state, local, and private sector participants as well as representatives from Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom. The specific goals of TOPOFF 4 focused on prevention, intelligence/investigation, incident management, public information and evaluation.

The conference brings TOPOFF to Oklahoma City near the anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995, as federal and state partners learn to work together to save lives through full scale exercises such as TOPOFF, a product of the National Exercise Program.

The report can be found at www.fema.gov.