There are 7 types of exercises. Exercises are either discussion
based, or operations-based. Discussions-based exercises
familiarize participants with current plans, policies, agreements
and procedures, or may be used to develop new plans, policies,
agreements, and procedures. Discussion-based Exercises include
the following:
Seminar: A seminar is an informal discussion,
designed to orient participants to new or updated plans,
policies, or procedures (e.g., a seminar to review a new
Evacuation Standard Operating Procedure).
Workshop: A workshop resembles a
seminar, but is employed to build specific products, such as a
draft plan or policy (e.g., a Training and Exercise Plan
Workshop is used to develop a Multi-year Training and Exercise
Plan).
Tabletop Exercise (TTX): A tabletop exercise
involves key personnel discussing simulated scenarios in an
informal setting. TTXs can be used to assess plans, policies,
and procedures.
Games: A game is a simulation of operations
that often involves two or more teams, usually in a competitive
environment, using rules, data, and procedure designed to
depict an actual or assumed real-life situation.
Operations-based Exercises validate plans, policies, agreements
and procedures, clarify roles and responsibilities, and identify
resource gaps in an operational environment.Operations-based
exercises include the following:
Drill: A drill is a coordinated, supervised
activity usually employed to test a single, specific operation
or function within a single entity (e.g., a fire department
conducts a decontamination drill).
Functional Exercise (FE): A functional
exercise examines and/or validates the coordination, command,
and control between various multi-agency coordination centers
(e.g., emergency operation center, joint field office, etc.). A
functional exercise does not involve any “boots on the ground”
(i.e., first responders or emergency officials responding to an
incident in real time).
Full-Scale Exercises (FSE): A full-scale
exercise is a multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional,
multi-discipline exercise involving functional (e.g., joint
field office, emergency operation centers, etc.) and “boots on
the ground” response (e.g., firefighters decontaminating mock
victims).