Domestic terrorismExercise simulates home-grown terrorists, nuclear incident
In a geopolitical environment with proliferating threats, a Defense Department whole-of-government exercise held 5-8 May provided a realistic way for federal, state, and local experts to interact in simulated situations involving mock home-grown terrorists and a nuclear incident. This year’s Nuclear Weapon Accident Incident Exercise, or NUWAIX 2015, took place on Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor located on the Kitsap Peninsula in the state of Washington. The goal of the exercise was to coordinate the efforts of federal, state, and local agencies in mitigating the consequences of an incident involving a U.S. nuclear weapon in DoD custody at a military base in the continental United States.
In a geopolitical environment with proliferating threats, a Defense Department whole-of-government exercise held 5-8 May provided a realistic way for federal, state, and local experts to interact in simulated situations involving mock home-grown terrorists and a nuclear incident.
This year’s Nuclear Weapon Accident Incident Exercise, or NUWAIX 2015, took place on Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor located on the Kitsap Peninsula in the state of Washington.
As the home base for the Navy’s fleet on West Puget Sound, NBK-B supports surface ships and fleet ballistic missile and other nuclear submarines whose home ports are Bremerton and Bangor.
DoD says that this set the stage for the actions required within a whole-of-government framework to mitigate the consequences of an incident involving a U.S. nuclear weapon in DoD custody at a military base in the continental United States. Among other goals, the exercise aimed to enhance the cooperative efforts of federal, state, and local response agencies.
Exercise participants
Federal participants in the exercise included the assistant secretary of defense for nuclear matters, U.S. Northern Command, the FBI, the Department of Energy, the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Emergency Management Agency U.S. Coast Guard, the Department of Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Food and Drug Administration.
Other participants included the U.S. Navy Region Northwest, Strategic Weapons Facility-Pacific, Marine Corps Security Forces Battalion-Bangor, officials from the State of Washington, and Kitsap County, and others.
The Defense Threat Reduction Agency, or DTRA, was the DoD exercise lead.
“I’m very proud of the DTRA team that planned and executed NUWAIX 15, integrating and managing over 1,500 participants who made up a whole-of-government response,” DTRA director Ken Myers said after the exercise. “DTRA’s motto is ‘Making the World Safer,’ and I guarantee that our world is a bit safer today because of the superb exercise this team developed and executed in Washington.”
Preparation
The NUWAIX fifteen field-training exercise took three days to complete and a year to plan, DTRA lead and exercise project officer Army Maj. Matt Kershner told DoD News during a recent interview.
Planning included a concept development meeting to determine the elements that each participant wants the exercise to address.
