Federal Exercises Overall

The number of federal agencies participating in exercises ranged from a single agency to many agencies. Of the 201 exercises, 61 exercises (30 percent) only included the agencies that led them. There were 140 exercises (70 percent) that were interagency exercises-they involved at least 2 federal departments or independent agencies. Ninety-six (47 percent of the total) exercises were major interagency exercises because they included three or more departments or independent agencies. DOD, FEMA, FBI, and USSS led the most major interagency exercises during this period.

5For the purpose of this report, we define "interagency" as involving more than one federal department or independent agency. For example, DOD-led exercises that included both Army and Navy participation, or FBI-led exercises that included other Department of Justice participants (e.g., the Bureau of Prisons) were not considered interagency exercises.

Federal Exercises Overall

In some of the 201 exercises, federal agencies gained experience working with state and local authorities, nongovernmental organizations, and foreign governments. Of the 201 exercises, 69 (34 percent) had state and/or local government participation, such as police and fire departments. In addition, 18 (9 percent) of the total exercises included nongovernmental or other private organizations. Examples of such organizations include disaster relief charities (e.g., the Red Cross), private firms (e.g., hospitals, airlines, and oil companies), and organizations set up for special events (e.g., the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games). Four of the exercises (2 percent) included foreign government participation and simulated federal agency integration in international incidents. DOD led most of the exercises with state and local participation because of the intergovernmental nature of the Domestic Preparedness Program exercises. After DOD, FBI and FEMA led more exercises with state and local participation than the other agencies.