Regional responder exercises in Kansas City | 09.19.2006 | 07:12:29 | Views: 5443 | ID: September 19 '06: First responders and regional homeland security officials in Kansas City, Missouri participated in a training drill to evaluate the region's Tactical Interoperable Communications Plan (TICP), which was designed to coordinate the area's first responders, government officials, private sector business leaders and emergency preparedness managers, Kansas City InfoZine reported. The areas around the city which participated in the exercise included Jackson, Cass, Clay, Platte, Ray counties in Missouri and Johnson, Leavenworth, and Wyandotte counties in Kansas. The drill was hosted in three locations and involved "an explosion and the discovery of suspicious devices," while emergency management operators tried to establish "multiple incident scenes [while] positioning responders in the field to perform command and control and tactical interoperable communications actions" associated with a terrorist threat. Major Jess McLendon, the North Kansas City Police Department and co-chair of the Regional Interoperability Committee said, "This multi-jurisdictional training drill is extremely important for the region. ... The drill will be an opportunity to test regional communications equipment and the ability of first responders to effectively communicate with all responding agencies." The TCIP, according to its fact sheet, "provides operational direction and technical data for the use of regional interoperable communications systems and resources," for every Urban Area Working Group. UAWG's were created to "provide effective governance and [to] coordinate program implementation," and to increase security and communications coordination among all levels of government in urban areas.
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