LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Louisville Metro Emergency Services hosted a full-scale exercise Wednesday to detail how the Emergency Operations Center would function in the event of an attack.
The exercise was called "Operation Red Dawn." Its main focuses were on possible terrorist and cyber attacks on Louisville Metro Government.
There was no real threat on Wednesday. The exercises were meant to mimic emergency situations that the city could face to enhance preparedness for coordinated attacks.
Government employees role played how they'd respond to a bombing at 4th Street Live! that left dozens injured and shutdown downtown, and the simultaneous hacking of Metro Government's internet system, which wiped out virtually all communications programs.
"You've got to keep up with what those threats are. Eight years ago when I started, cyber was a big threat, but it didn't seem to be as big of a threat as it is today. You've really got to keep up with the things that can harm you the most," said Louisville Metro Emergency Services Executive Director Jody Meiman.
The core capabilities that were practiced included:
- cybersecurity
- operational coordination
- operational communication
- public health, healthcare and emergency services
- public information and warning
- on-scene security, protection and law enforcement
- planning
"This incident made us think a little more outside the box in terms of how we'd respond to the event because we might not be able to get our employees here to deal with a scenario, if there's something else happening a block away," said Louisville Metro Director of IT Chris Seidt. "It's always helping us evolve our plan."
Seidt said the training was especially important for IT due to recent events across the country.
"The city of Dallas, the City of Oakland, CA experienced those attacks. This is a great opportunity for us to practice our response plans to that. As bad of a day as this was in in fiction, it was a great day in technology for Louisville because we got to practice something a lot of cities don't get the opportunity to practice," said Seidt.
In total, more than 50 officials from 20 different operations participated in the training, including first responders, IT professionals, human resource personnel and representatives from federal, state and local governments.
Operation Red Dawn takes place at MetroSafe in Louisville, Ky. on Wednesday, May 24. Several local, state and federal agencies role play responses to a simultaneous bombing and cyber attack on Louisville Metro Government. (WDRB Image by Grace Hayba)
As part of the training, city officials fielded questions from members of the media.
“Today’s exercise helped us to train, build upon and sustain the capabilities of our local emergency management teams designed to respond to critical incidents, while also identifying any gaps so they can be immediately addressed and resolved,” said Meiman. “Our first responders have a challenging job and often have to make decisions quickly, so providing trainings like this is another tool in our toolbox to help us keep our community safe.
Operation Red Dawn was funded by a grant from Kentucky Homeland Security.
More than 50 officials from 20 organizations, including Mayor Craig Greenberg, deputy mayors, first responders, IT professionals and human resource personnel, participated in the exercise, along with representatives of federal, state and local governments, as well as non-governmental organizations.
After the training, participants held a debrief to discuss what went smoothly and areas that could be improved.
"My biggest takeaway was to see people work through it that had never worked through an incident management system," said Meiman.
The entire exercise was centered within the MetroSafe building at 410 South 5th Street in downtown Louisville.
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