The Los Angeles District Emergency Management team conducted the Continuity of Operations, or COOP, training exercise March 11-12 at the district’s area office in Phoenix.
The COOP is designed to review, practice and assess the district’s response to a catastrophic event using virtual scenarios.
“There is an expectation from our higher headquarters, and, more importantly, from the American people, that we are ready to respond in the event of a disaster,” said LA District Commander Col. Andrew Baker.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is required by Army Regulation 500-3 and the Presidential Policy Directive 40 to have a Continuity of Operations Plan to ensure it can respond and perform essential functions in the event of an emergency.
“The focus of our training scenario was to ensure our leadership knows how to execute our Continuity of Operations Plan should a disaster occur that precludes us from using our primary command and control facility in Los Angeles,” said David Kingston, the LA District Emergency Management Branch Chief.
The training focused on three objectives:
- A thorough understanding of the district’s written Continuity of Operations Plan.
- Familiarity with the layout and capabilities of our Alternate COOP site, which is the Arizona-Nevada Area Office in Phoenix.
- To understand the relationships between the LA District and its sister districts in Sacramento and Albuquerque, as they have the responsibility to take on the LA District’s mission essential functions should it not be able to carry them out in the event of a major disaster.
“I think the training went well,” said Joshua Jimerfield, a civil planner with the South Pacific Readiness and Contingency Operations office. “I felt there was good discussion and that the exercise provided valuable insight into the logistics of a COOP in a virtual environment. I also believe these types of exercise are invaluable in their ability to highlight how critical COOP and all-hazards plans are to senior leaders.”
Along with the South Pacific Division, the Sacramento and the Albuquerque districts also sent emergency managers to assist the LA District with training objectives.
“I enjoyed the COOP exercise,” said LA District Contracting Chief Mary Fronck. “It was very engaging, and I learned more about our response operations through the exercises. Coordination and communication are key, especially now, before an event occurs.”
The Emergency Management team provides engineering services to respond to national and natural disasters to minimize damage and help in recovery efforts.