[Scan-DC] Pentagon Drill tomorrow

[Brian Rokus]

From a DOD Press Release:

Chemical Defense Exercise Set for May 8 at Pentagon

A chemical defense exercise will be held Wednesday, May 8, starting at 9 
a.m. EDT in the Pentagon's Center Courtyard. Arlington County's emergency 
response units and members of the Defense Protective Service will conduct 
the exercise, which is being funded by the Department of Justice Domestic 
Preparedness Program. Personnel from the Pentagon's Real Estate and 
Facilities directorate will arrange logistics for the four-hour drill.

The exercise, which was planned prior to Sept. 11, will test Arlington's 
response to a chemical weapons attack in a public setting. It also will 
examine the county's ability to establish and maintain multi-agency, 
multi-jurisdiction and public communications in response to such an attack. 
The exercise does not indicate an increased threat to Arlington or the 
Pentagon.

The exercise will consist of a number of activities usually associated with 
the initial response to an act of chemical terrorism, including: victim 
rescue, triage, treatment and decontamination, agent identification, site 
security and crowd control, monitoring for contamination, contamination 
control, device or debris recovery and packaging.

Approximately 300 people will take part in the exercise. Some will act as 
victims and others will provide medical treatment and perform related 
activities. In addition to Arlington police and fire units, fire departments 
from Alexandria, Fairfax County, and Fort Myer will be involved. Other 
participating agencies include the Metropolitan Medical Response Team, 
American Red Cross, FBI, Virginia State Police, Defense Press Operations, 
Defense Information School, Virginia Hospital Center-Arlington, 
INOVA-Hospital Alexandria, INOVA Hospital-Fairfax, Northern Virginia 
Community Hospital, Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the Pentagon's 
DiLorenzo Health Clinic.



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