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Federal Exercises Overall

As discussed earlier, exercises are categorized as tabletop or field exercises. We found that federal agencies conducted a mixture of tabletop and field exercises. Of the total 201 exercises in the 3-year period, 116 (58 percent) were field exercises and 85 (42 percent) were tabletop exercises. Although field exercises exceeded tabletop exercises overall, the number of tabletop exercises increased at a much faster rate (567 percent versus 143 percent).

One factor in the increase in tabletop exercises was DOD's implementation of the Domestic Preparedness Program in the third year. This trend may reverse somewhat in future years as program exercises shift from tabletop to field exercises. Some agencies, such as FEMA, relied mostly on tabletop exercises, and others, such as the U.S. Secret Service (USSS), held mostly field exercises. DOD, FEMA, and FBI led the most tabletop exercises during this period and DOD, USSS, and FBI led the most field exercises.

Federal Exercises Overall

GAO Counterterrorist Exercises

With Notice and No Notice

No Notice - 4

With Notice - 197

Federal Exercises Overall

Very few of the counterterrorism exercises were conducted without advance notice to the participants. Such exercises, known as "no-notice" exercises, provide the highest degree of challenge and realism to federal counterterrorism teams. Only four (2 percent of the total) exercises had no-notice field deployments of federal personnel and equipment. All of the no-notice exercises had international scenarios and were sponsored by DOD or DOE. They included rapid deployments of command elements and tactical units to locations worldwide and included the FEST to practice supporting the ambassador at a post in a terrorist situation.

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