[Scan-DC] Massive Training Operation Set For Ocean City Next Weekend

[Alan Henney]

Daily Buzz E-News
Massive Training Operation Set For Ocean City Next Weekend

Shawn J. Soper

Managing Editor

OCEAN CITY -- Helicopters will swirl around the skies, Navy vessels will
set up offshore and hundreds of first-responders from dozens of agencies
will be running around the downtown area next Saturday, but there will be
no need to panic.

Coordinated by the Maryland National Guard and mandated by Gov. Larry
Hogan, Operation Tourist Boom will be conducted at different locations all
over the downtown Ocean City area next Saturday afternoon. Allied federal,
state and local agencies along with private sector groups and quasi-public
organizations will be participating in the operation, which will include an
active shooter exercise, a simulated vehicle assault with multiple
casualties, a ship-boarding exercise off the coast, a simulated bomb
detonation and a handful of other exercises will be part of the operation.

Operation Tourist Boom is designed to test the local, state and federal
agencies’ ability to coordinate a measured response to the types of
emergency situations that have occurred in other areas in recent years.
The operation will include local agencies such as Ocean City Emergency
Services, the Ocean City Police Department, the Ocean City Fire Department
and EMS, the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office, the Maryland State Police,
the Maryland Natural Resources Police and U.S. Park Police from Assateague.
State and federal agencies scheduled to participate include the Maryland
National Guard, the U.S. Coast Guard and even the U.S. Navy.

According to a release from the coordinating agency, over 600 Maryland
National Guard soldiers from all around the state will participate and work
in coordination with the Maryland Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) and
dozens of local, state and federal agencies. The total estimated number of
participants in the various exercises is expected to top 1,100.

The operation will simulate a large-scale emergency and terrorist attack.
Early in the operation, Hogan, after assessing the situation, will declare
a state of emergency and activate the Maryland National Guard to support
civil authorities in law enforcement, security and decontamination efforts.
The objective of the operation is to conduct a dynamic, high-intensity and
realistic training operation that prepares the Maryland National Guard for
a complex domestic incident. Maryland National Guard soldiers will practice
interagency coordination and build partnership capacities with the local,
state and federal agencies participating in the drills.

When Operation Tourist Boom and all it will entail was presented to the
Mayor and Council in September, the town’s elected officials urged the
participating agencies to include a comprehensive outreach campaign to
alert the public about some of the activities they will see and hear next
Saturday, Nov. 3. The Mayor and Council voiced concern the sight of
helicopters flying overhead and SWAT teams running up and down the
Boardwalk would alarm residents and visitors unaware the vast operation was
just a training drill. Back in September, Mayor Rick Meehan said with
helicopters flying around, ships and other vessels offshore and
first-responders from dozens of agencies running around, likely no amount
of public outreach about the event would be enough.

More:
https://mdcoastdispatch.com/2018/10/25/massive-training-operation-set-for-ocean-city-next-weekend/