September 14, 2022 – County and state officials in the region responded to a simulated chemical incident at the Bluegrass Army Depot in Madison County, Ky., on Sept. 14, 2022. Working behind the scenes as controllers to support this annual full-scale exercise were 20 EKU students.

What students do with others at the simulation cell or SIMCELL is add realism to the exercise by simulating the response of businesses, schools, and residents of the impacted communities. They do so by calling local officials during the exercise with injects or prompts, such as “what if” scenarios, that are intended to help the officials assess their preparedness plans and systems for responding to a chemical release. Other students are assigned to monitoring social medial postings and performing other activities. Students attended a training the day before the exercise to become familiar with those at the control center and their exercise responsibilities.

The Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program or CSEPP exercise is conducted annually and supported by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Army, Kentucky Division of Emergency Management, and agencies from the 13 Kentucky counties that make up the CSEPP region.

Though their participation was voluntary, students gained significant experiences that are not afforded to many other college students. Plus, it provided an opportunity to apply what they are learning at EKU. For example, students in the course HLS 491 Disaster Planning and Exercise learn about the planning process and the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) doctrine, which is the national doctrine for designing and conducting disaster exercises. How communities respond to disasters is addressed in many Homeland Security program courses such as HLS 260 Disaster Preparedness and Response and HLS 465 Unconventional Threats and Responses.

Published on December 13, 2022