Who participates?

TOPOFF is led by the Department of Justice, the federal agency designated to respond to domestic terrorist attacks, the Department of State, which has the lead for responding to international attacks, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Participants are officials at the federal, state, and local levels who would direct crisis management and consequence management response to a real WMD attack.

TOPOFF was first conducted in May 2000 and involved thousands of federal, state, and local personnel, along with top U.S. officials including the Attorney General, Secretary of Health and Human Services, FBI Director, FEMA Director, and two state governors.

How does TOPOFF proceed? Where does it take place? How long does it last?

TOPOFF is constructed to emulate a real WMD attack by a real international terrorist organization. Exercise duration varies and is conducted in "real time." In order to make the exercise as real as possible, participants are given little forewarning of what scenarios they will face, such as type of WMD involved or specific location, date, and time of the attacks./ex]
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Exercise Scenario

The T4 FSE is based on National Planning Scenario 11 (NPS-11). The scenario begins as terrorists, who have been planning attacks in Oregon, Arizona, and the U.S. Territory of Guam, successfully bring radioactive material into the United States. The first of three coordinated attacks occurs in Guam, with the simulated detonation of a Radiological Dispersal Device (RDD), or “dirty bomb,” causing casualties and wide-spread contamination in a populous area near a power plant. Similar attacks occur in the hours that follow in Portland and Phoenix. An RDD is not the same as a nuclear attack. It is a conventional explosive that, upon detonation, releases radioactive material into the surrounding area. Although it does not cause the type of catastrophic damage associated with a nuclear detonation, there are severe rescue, health, and long-term decontamination concerns associated with an RDD. Real weapons will not be used in the scenario, but the response will be mounted as if they had been.

In addition, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will mobilize around emerging public health issues related to a radiological emergency, and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) will run concurrent exercises to address global terror threats.