Federal, state, and local officials participate in mass casualty exercises in Maryland

BALTIMORE – As many as 375 federal, state, and local officials plus medical professionals participated in a fully-functional homeland security exercise in Middle River, Maryland, today to test interagency coordination and incident response plans.

Dubbed Operation Harbor Shield, the exercise challenged law enforcement, first responders, and medical professionals during two high-stress mass casualty events – an active shooter in a seaport building, and an active shooter plus drone-deployed improvised explosive device in a concert venue.

The goal of Operation Harbor Shield is to exercise agency response plans and interagency coordination in order to identify potential gaps in capabilities, communications, interoperability, and equipment.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the University of Maryland Medical Center, and the U.S. Air Force Center for the Sustainment of Trauma and Readiness Skills (C-STARS), Baltimore planned and coordinated the exercise.

Participating agencies included CBP, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Maryland State Police, Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) Police, Baltimore County Police, Baltimore County Fire, and Baltimore City Police.

Medical professionals from the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center at the University of Maryland Medical Center received arrivals from today's exercise via ground transport and medevac helicopters to its active Trauma Resuscitation Unit.  First responders were also offered training on lifesaving care.

As many as 125 volunteers played roles as building workers and concert goers, many with varying degrees of injury, to create a high-stress environment to challenge first responders’ decision-making and response priorities.

In between the two scenarios, participants rotated through tactical and trauma training, which included incident command, weapons handling, room and stairwell clearing, triage procedures, tourniquet application, wound packing, and airway management.

“Mass casualty incidents are horrific, and we hope we never have to experience one, but how well we are collectively prepared to respond to a mass casualty event could make a difference in how many lives we save,” said Jason Kropiewnicki, CBP’s Acting Area Port Director in Baltimore. “Response plans are just words unless they are challenged and improved through multi-agency and multi-discipline exercises such as Operation Harbor Shield.”

“We are grateful to have been a part of such a well-coordinated training exercise,” said Tony Christiani, Simulation Program Administrator of the C-STARS Sim Lab Center, Baltimore. “As Maryland’s only Primary Adult Resource Center level trauma center and the heart of the state’s EMS trauma system, our Shock Trauma and C-STARS clinical teams are dedicated to being in a constant state of readiness to save lives in the aftermath of a large-scale mass causality event. While this is an experience we all hope to never live, it is critical to partner with federal, state and local agencies across the region to ensure we are ready to work together seamlessly to answer the call when comes.”

The U.S. Army’s Combat Capabilities Development Command Army Research Laboratory served as host for the exercise at its Gracie’s Quarters training site.

Operation Harbor Shield was conducted in accordance with the Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program.

Exercises are a key component of national preparedness — they provide the whole community with the opportunity to shape planning, assess and validate capabilities, and address areas for improvement.

Follow the Director of CBP’s Baltimore Field Office on Twitter at @DFOBaltimore for breaking news, current events, human interest stories and photos, and CBP’s Office of Field Operations on Instagram at @cbpfieldops.

Media may download still photos of the mass casualty exercise from CBP's Flickr at https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCvYsm.