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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

MIRAGE GOLD was a full field exercise (FFE) involving selected Federal and State organizations and agencies held in New Orleans, Louisiana, from October 16 through October 21, 1994. The exercise was the last of four events in the Mile Shakedown series and it was designed to provide an opportunity to assess the coordination, command and control, and other capabilities of participating organizations and agencies in their response to a malevolent act or acts involving nuclear materials within the United States. The three preceding events under Mile Shakedown, intended to establish the framework within which MIRAGE GOLD would be conducted and to provide exercise support data, included:

MICA DIG, a symposium designed to identify issues expected to arise in MIRAGE GOLD and to prepare managers at the headquarters level to deal with them.

An Emergency Deployment Readiness Exercise (EDRE) for Department of Energy (DOE) Nuclear Emergency Search Team (NEST) personnel that provided personnel arrival data to be used in Exercise MIRAGE GOLD.

MILD COVER, a communications and information management exercise used to develop, set up, and test various communications and computer software systems which supported Exercise MIRAGE GOLD. :

The major participants in Exercise MIRAGE GOLD included field elements from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), DOE, Department of Defense (DOD), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the State of Louisiana. Local level involvement in the exercise was limited to the FBI. All participants played from facilities located in Gretna, Louisiana. There was no headquarters play from Washington, D.C.; these elements were represented by a simulation cell at the exercise site.

Objectives for the exercise consisted of those applicable to all agencies (Interagency/General Objectives) and those that were agency-specific (Specific Objectives). In general, all of these objectives were oriented toward exercising and evaluating various plans, policies, procedures, including Memorandums of Understanding(MOUs), and the interface between elements of the participating agencies. There was also interest in evaluating the transition from the law enforcement phase of the scenario to that of consequence management. FEMA's specific objectives included the following:

Exercise and evaluate FEMA's on-scene response coordination functions for a malevolent nuclear threat with the FBI, DOD, DOE, and other agencies. Evaluate the interface between DOE, DOD, FBI, FEMA, and other Federal agencies at the local and national level as it pertains to the command and control,

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logistical support, public information, and State interface.

Exercise the concepts and operations of a Disaster Field Office (DFO) and the Joint Operations Center (JOC) in this type of scenario, with the FBI as the lead agency.

Evaluate the operation of a joint information system during a situation which begins as a law enforcement problem and evolves into a consequence

management problem.

The exercise scenario centered on a domestic terrorist group, the Patriots for National Unity (PNU), plotting to assemble and use nuclear explosive devices in the United States. After the FBI was able to verify the group's intent and establish, with a reasonable degree of certainty, the probability of nuclear material in their possession, other agencies (DOD, DOE, and FEMA) were requested to assist in dealing with the problem. Subsequent exercise events, scripted and free play, focused on the procedures for tactical and technical operations conducted to resolve the situation and the interaction and exchange of information between various organizations at the national, regional, and local level.

The exercise began on October 16 with play continuing on a twenty-four hour a day basis until October 21, 1994. Generally, the exercise provided an excellent opportunity for participating agencies and organizations to evaluate their performance against the objectives, both general and specific. For FEMA, there were several points that became obvious early in the exercise. First, there was a lack of understanding by the lead agency (the FBI) regarding the concept of consequence management and how it would apply to the situation depicted in the exercise scenario. Second, there was an apparent belief by the FBI that tactical and technical operations to deal with the incident could be performed in relative isolation from local officials as well as the media. Third, the protection and safety of the population should efforts to locate and disable the nuclear device fail and a radiological release occur was not considered by the FBI. Fourth, there are a number of questions regarding the Federal Response Plan (FRP) and the Federal Radiological Emergency Response Plan (FRERP) ranging from the relationship of the plans to one another to the conditions under which each would be implemented.

The results of Exercise MIRAGE GOLD highlight the fact that agencies and organizations that are not involved in providing support to the FRP, such as the FBI, do not appreciate the range of responsibility that FEMA has in any situation that could result in a threat to the safety and well being of the population and infrastructure of the country. The results also indicate that the concept of consequence management is not well understood, particularly as it applies in situations were a catastrophic disaster has not actually occurred. Last, but certainly of no lesser importance, the results of the exercise demonstrated a lack of understanding of, or appreciation for, State prerogatives in dealing with any type of threat in their domain.

Exercise MIRAGE GOLD did not produce any significant surprises, but rather reinforced the

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fact that the concept of consequence management and the responsibilities of FEMA, the State and local level jurisdictions as well as other Federal agencies are not fully understood. The initiatives that FEMA has taken such as linking all of the separate response plans for different types of disasters under the FRP making it a true "National Response Plan" should continue. The Agency should continue to participate in, and sponsor when appropriate, exercises similar to MIRAGE GOLD in order to familiarize other agencies and organization with consequence management - what it means and what it entails. Actions should continue to finalize an MOU with the FBI which clearly identifies the roles and responsibilities of FEMA, the Regions, States, and local jurisdictions in dealing with and responding to domestic terrorist situations and events.

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EXERCISE MIRAGE GOLD AFTER ACTION REPORT

1.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this report is to provide a written record of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) participation in Exercise MIRAGE GOLD, an event jointly sponsored by the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The document is intended to provide an audit trail of all phases of the exercise from planning through execution and an evaluation of the FEMA exercise objectives.

MIRAGE GOLD, a full field exercise (FFE) involving selected Federal, State, and local agencies was held in New Orleans, Louisiana, from October 16 through October 21, 1994. The exercise was designed to provide an opportunity to assess the coordination, command and control, and other capabilities of participating organizations and agencies in their response to a malevolent act or acts involving nuclear materials within the United States. It was the final event in a series of four that comprise the Mile Shakedown exercise series. Other exercises in the series included:

3.

MICA DIG, a symposium held in the Washington, D.C., area involving representatives from senior management levels of the major participating agencies. It was intended to prepare managers at the headquarters level to deal with the issues expected to arise in Exercise MIRAGE GOLD.

An Emergency Deployment Readiness Exercise (EDRE) involving Department of Energy (DOE) personnel and contractors that participate in/support the Nuclear Emergency Search Team (NEST) program. The EDRE served to test the deployment readiness of the NEST and to provide phased personnel arrival data to be used in Exercise MIRAGE GOLD.

MILD COVER, a communications and information management exercise, held in New Orleans, Louisiana, at the MIRAGE GOLD exercise site. MILD COVER was used to develop, set up, and test various communications and computer software systems that were to be used to support Exercise MIRAGE GOLD.

EXERCISE PLANNING

The planning for Exercise MIRAGE GOLD was accomplished under the overall Mile Shakedown planning structure which consisted of the following elements:

The Mile Shakedown Steering Committee, whose membership included the Exercise Director, Chief and Deputy Chief Planners, four operational group leaders, and representatives from each major participating organization (DOD, DOE, FBI, FEMA HQS, and FEMA Region

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VI). The Committee was responsible for ensuring that the overall planning effort remained on schedule and that agreed upon goals were met. Organizational members were responsible for ensuring that the planning staff properly addressed each organizational interest, objective, and goal during the planning process. In addition, they had authority to make decisions and commit their organizations as necessary to facilitate operational planning. The Mile Shakedown Steering Committee generally met on a monthly basis during the planning for Exercise MIRAGE GOLD. The Mirage Gold Planning Group, headed by the Chief Planner, was responsible for all planning activities and the transition to the execution phase of the exercise. The Planning Group was supported by three subgroups; the Scenario Planning Group, the Operations Group, and the Exercise Support Working Group. The general responsibilities of each of these elements is discussed below.

The Scenario Planning Group was responsible for developing an effective and realistic scenario consistent with the exercise objectives and the development of a Master Scenario Event List (MSEL) for the exercise. It was also responsible for developing appropriate injects to ensure meaningful intelligence, media, tactical, and consequence management play in Exercise MIRAGE GOLD. Representatives from each of the major participating organizations served as members of the Scenario Planning Group and met on a monthly basis during the planning phase. The Operations Working Group was the element charged with planning all of the operational aspects of the exercise. It was also responsible for management of the scenario after the exercise began and the overall evaluation. Planning for Opposition Force (OPFOR), Controllers, Air/maritime operations, players procedures and orientation, and development of the Operations Plan (OPLAN) for the exercise were accomplished by this Working Group.

The Exercise Support Working Group was responsible for planning and providing support to all of the other planning groups as well as planning support to the players during the exercise. Support responsibilities included the development of a Control Staff Communications Plan, identifying logistical support needs, developing Safety and Security Plans for the exercise, developing an Operations Security (OPSEC) Plan, and planning safety training for exercise controllers and players.

The Washington, D.C. Planning Group was responsible for planning the MICA DIG table top exercise and the Washington, D.C. Simulation Cell (WDC SIMCELL) participation in Exercise MIRAGE GOLD. For the WDC SIMCELL, the Planning Group identified the level of simulated play in the Washington, D.C. area and developed items for the MSEL (including implementers) to ensure meaningful and realistic responses for the simulated Headquarters of the various participating organizations.

The final two planning groups under the Mile Shakedown Steering Committee included the EDRE Planning Group and the MILD COVER Planning Group. The EDRE Planning Group was responsible for planning the DOE EDRE exercise, the results of which provided input to the planning for Exercise MIRAGE GOLD. The MILD COVER Planning Group had the responsibility of ensuring the exercise (MILD COVER) was a valid and meaningful test of the communications systems, equipment, and personnel that were to support Exercise MIRAGE GOLD. FEMA representation to the Mile Shakedown Steering Committee, the Scenario