Wednesday, June 3, 2009

DOE's Helicopter Drill

Here's a photo of the Department of Energy's helicopter flying a leisurely grid pattern parallel to upper Washington Ave. yesterday. My question - with over 500 people participating and a chopper burning 113 gallons of fuel per hour, just how much did this exercise cost?

In case you missed all the publicity:

All Over Albany: Albany and Rensselaer to get buzzed [with helicoptor glamour shot]

Troy Record: Mock ‘dirty bomb’ spurs drill [with helicoptor video]

Times-Union: 'Dirty bomb' scenario without the blasts [with helicoptor photos]

Capital News 9: Agencies conducting emergency response drills [with video]

Oak Ridge Associated Universities: ORAU to Serve as Principal Planner for Empire 09 Emergency Management Exercise

New York State Emergency Management Office Press Release: U.S., NEW YORK STATE & LOCAL AGENCIES CONDUCT DIRTY BOMB EXERCISE
The exercise is hosted by New York State through the NYS Disaster Preparedness Commission (DPC) and is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy / National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA). Because of the complexity of Empire 09, the Federal Department of Homeland Security’s National Exercise Program has designated it as a Tier II National Level Exercise.
...
Participating agencies in Empire 09 include:

New York State Government: Office of the Governor, State Departments of Agriculture and Markets, Environmental Conservation, Education, Health, Labor, and Transportation; State Offices of Emergency Management, Homeland Security, Fire Prevention & Control, and General Services; State Divisions of State Police, and Military & Naval Affairs.

Albany and Rensselaer Counties: Albany County’s Critical Incident Emergency Management Unit, Albany County Sheriff’s Office, Albany County Health Department, City of Albany Fire and Police Departments, Office of the Mayor of Albany, Albany County Airport Authority, Rensselaer County Public Safety Department, Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Office, Rensselaer County Health Department, Albany Medical Center.

Federal Government: U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Defense, Office of the Secretary of Defense, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense, DOD Defense Threat Reduction Agency, United States Northern Command, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

No comments: