2010 Vancouver Olympics Prep
August 12, 2009
By Lindsay A. Gross, Managing Editor
Communications training and exercises have played a major role in preparing for the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, which will be held in Vancouver, British Columbia, in February. Because Vancouver is only 30 miles north of the U.S./Canadian border, agencies in both countries are conducting joint training exercises to enhance communications interoperability during the games.
The most recent training exercise was held during another sporting event in Vancouver, the 2009 World Police and Fire Games, which drew 10,000 athletes July 31 – Aug. 9. According to Stuart Ballantyne, CEO of the World Police and Fire Games, the event is seen as a dry run for the upcoming Olympics.
According to James Downes, chief of the federal communications services division of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Emergency Communications (OEC), the agency will assist the Washington state’s Olympics security committee Communications Interoperability Working Group (CIWG) by providing training and exercises for the federal, state, local and tribal agencies in the area affected by the games to ensure effective execution of the interagency interoperable communications plan. Training and exercises include a combination of workshops and tabletop and functional exercises. OEC will also support the communications elements of other training and exercises planned by the Olympics security committee and will conduct additional technical assistance activities to support emergency preparedness throughout the region.
“The close proximity of the 2010 games to the northwest United States requires sustained, coordinated, dependable and integrated voice and data communications,” Downes said. The DHS National Protections and Programs Directorate (NPPD) is leading interoperable communications efforts, as well as infrastructure protection and training support to U.S. regional partners and Canadian government/industry partners for the games.
Major Gen. Timothy J. Lowenberg with the Washington State Military Department, has been a member of the Governor’s 2010 Olympic Task Force since its inception in 2004 and served as the founding chair and, later co-chair, of the Task Force’s Security Committee since it was established in early 2005. During the past four years, the 2010 Olympics security committee has grown to more than 300 active contributors representing more than 40 U.S. and Canadian federal, state and provincial, local and tribal entities. The military department provided administrative support for the committee’s National Incident Management System (NIMS)-based work groups and served as co-lead agency for two of the groups: finance/administration and public information. “In addition, we have hosted and facilitated all of the quarterly planning meetings since April 2005, each of which has involved 150 or more senior U.S. and Canadian officials,” Lowenberg said.
Training courses have also included surveillance detection for commercial and law enforcement/first responders, bombing prevention, private sector counterterrorism, improvised explosive device (IED) training and border security. In conjunction with DHS Office for Interoperability and Compatibility (OIC), OEC sponsored the first Type III All-Hazards Communications Unit Leader (Com-L) training course in Seattle. The course provided a comprehensive technical and operational overview of the use and activation of interoperability solutions to prepare for activities during the games. Attendees represented various disciplines — police, fire and emergency management — as well as several states, including California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Maryland and Ohio.
For more on Olympics communications planning, read the October issue of MissionCritical Communications.
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