The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Office of Academic Engagement (OAE) recently released the Situation Manual and Summary Report from the 2018 Charlottesville Regional Tabletop Exercise for Institutions of Higher Education (RTTX).
The event’s Situation Manual contains the exercise scenario of campus unrest and a soft target attack on campus as it was presented to more than 150 participants from academia, public safety, and law enforcement in Charlottesville, Va. The Summary Report details key findings, learnings, and scenario objectives compiled after the learning session and a tabletop exercise concluded.
Further detailed in the Summary Report, the RTTX had a significant impact on participants’ understanding of their own institution’s risks and vulnerabilities, as well as their preparedness posture regarding the exercise scenario. In a post-event survey, 45 percent of participants reported gaps in their institution’s soft target incident planning, while 41 percent reported gaps in campus unrest planning. The Summary Report provides resources tailored for both of these planning areas, as well as several other categories relevant to an institution’s emergency operation plan.
A key Campus Resilience (CR) Program offering, the 2018 Charlottesville RTTX sought to provide participants with insights into protection, response, and recovery best practices related to the chosen exercise scenario. The goal of the RTTX is to bolster campuses’ ability to mitigate the impacts of a regional incident and provide tools and resources to develop the necessary plans, policies, procedures, and capabilities to respond to and recover from a crisis.
Members of the academic community are encouraged to refer to the documents to learn from the findings, as well as use the situational guides for trainings with staff. In addition to these reports, OAE regularly updates the Campus Resilience Resource Library with training materials and guidance on threats ranging from natural disasters to active shooter incidents.
To access the Situation Manual, visit this page. To access the Summary Report, visit this page. For more information, visit the Campus Resilience Program, TTX Series, and the CR Program Resource Library, or email OAE at AcademicEngagement@hq.dhs.gov.
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