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Richard
10-13-2009, 04:44
From my alma mater - the exercise can be viewed via WWW beginning at 0830 CST on 23 Oct 2009.

I considered posting it under the martial law discussion thread but opted to post separately so it wouldn't be lost in that much larger discussion although it is directly related to the issue.

Richard's $.02 :munchin

Law and SPEA Students To Take Part In Groundbreaking Counter-Terrorism Simulation

In the event of terrorist attack on American soil, what rights and responsibilities do public officials have to protect citizens? How far can officials go in limiting freedoms while still maintaining constitutionally protected rights? What are the potential conflicts between or within agencies that might hinder or complicate government responses?

These are some of the questions that state, local, and national government officials and civil servants will one day face -- and that students from the Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis and the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at IUPUI will face during an Oct. 23 groundbreaking counter-terrorism simulation at the law school.

Students will work side-by-side with local and state officials to respond to simulated counter-terrorism events taking place locally and throughout the world. The event will be broadcast live over the Internet so college or high school students in their classrooms, first responders in emergency networks, or private citizens at home can watch and learn.

"We created this simulation in the interest of preparing a new generation of global leaders and citizens," says Professor Shawn Boyne of the IU School of Law-Indianapolis, who brought together all of the elements in the simulation.

The public will be able to view the simulation online beginning at 8:30 a.m., Oct. 23, at http://indylaw.indiana.edu/programs/simulation.

Along with the simulation, the law school will present a keynote lecture on Oct. 22 by Lt. Col. David Benjamin, a reservist advocate with the Israel Defense Forces and a specialist in the law of armed conflicts and counter-terrorism. Benjamin will join experts on counter-terrorism and related issues from academia, the ACLU, the FBI, the U.S. Army War College, and the government of Germany for panel discussions on Oct. 23.

During the simulation, students will act in assigned roles that include the governor of Indiana, the president of the United States, the mayor of Indianapolis and intelligence operatives in the field. Acting "in character," for their assigned roles, they will make time-sensitive decisions based on conflicting, and sometimes incomplete, intelligence information.

"Faculty and students from SPEA will be participating in the exercise as well to encourage our students to view the law through an interdisciplinary lens," Boyne said.

Participants will receive information from live newsfeeds detailing events as they unfold. They then will be asked to mobilize their staffs and work with other agencies to respond to the developing emergencies within the boundaries of the law.

"To enhance realism, we have invited several experts in the field of counter-terrorism to work with the students throughout the program," Boyne said. "At the conclusion of the simulation, participants will receive feedback from international counter-terrorism experts."

The program has received overwhelming support from the state of Indiana and Marion County. In addition to providing technical assistance, the Marion County Emergency Management Division (MCEMD) plans to promote the simulation to its constituents. Similarly, the Indiana Emergency Response Commission (IERC) has expressed an interest in making this simulation exercise available for training for emergency responders in Indiana's 92 counties.

"This exercise provides public safety personnel at all levels of government -- local, state and federal -- the opportunity to further enhance their skills and capabilities through their participation," said Debbi Fletcher, senior coordinator of MCEMD. "This partnership is a vivid example of the university's impact upon students and the citizens of Indianapolis."

While members of the public can observe the simulation online, they can attend the following events in person:


Benjamin's keynote address on "Israel's Fight Against Terrorism -- the Charge of the Lawyers' Brigade," at 5 p.m., Oct. 22, in the Law School's Wynne Courtroom (see http://indylaw.indiana.edu for more details). Benjamin has served as one of the top legal advisers to the Israeli security establishing, advising senior IDF commanders on operational law issues, foreign relations, economic affairs, humanitarian affairs and international military cooperation.

A panel discussion titled "Evaluating the Simulation, Dilemmas of Decision Making," at 2 p.m., Oct. 23. Panelists will include Gilbert Holmes, ACLU Indiana; Mike German, policy council, ACLU Washington legislative office; Kai M. Lohse, Federal Public Prosecutor General, Karlsruhe, Germany; and Jim White, clinical lecturer, IU School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Call 317-278-3400 to arrange to attend.

A panel discussion titled "Looking Forward: Improving National Security," at 3:30 p.m., Oct. 23. Panelist will include Jeffrey F. Addicott, distinguished professor of law and director of the Center for Terrorism Law, St. Mary's University; Shawn Boyne, professor of law, IU School of Law-Indianapolis; William A. Foley Jr., lecturer, IU School of Public and Environmental Affairs; Bert Tussing, director, Homeland Defense and Security Issues Group, U.S. Army War College Center for Strategic Leadership**; and Michael S. Welch, special agent-in-charge, Indianapolis Division, FBI. Call 317-278-3400 to arrange to attend.


** Tussing bio http://www.csl.army.mil/BertTussing.aspx

For more information on the Terrorism Simulation at Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis and related events, contact Elizabeth Allington at 317-278-3038 or eallingt@iupui.edu.

http://newsinfo.iu.edu/web/page/normal/12061.html

LongWire
10-13-2009, 06:57
I'm all for testing theories and working out problems. I hate to bring it up, but announcing and broadcasting to the world IMHO, is maybe not such a hot idea, as this helps those who would want to do us harm in plotting their problems into our solutions.

Some things should be shared, just not everything. Everyone doesn't play fair.

Pete
10-13-2009, 07:14
A tactical excercise without troops.

Sounds interesting.

But I'd temper the "interesting" with the fact that a number of the decision making roles will be filled with roleplayers. A roleplayer will not have the "Burden of Command" the the real person would have. Can make for a different outcome.

LongWire
10-13-2009, 09:54
A tactical excercise without troops.

Sounds interesting.

But I'd temper the "interesting" with the fact that a number of the decision making roles will be filled with roleplayers. A roleplayer will not have the "Burden of Command" the the real person would have. Can make for a different outcome.


Very true.....

A few years back, at Campbell they starting using some Arabic roleplayers at the MOUT city to add to the Realism of scenario based training for units getting ready to deploy. Long story short, they weren't prepared to deal with the Realism that my Company brought with it. As a matter of fact they were so complacent in the rules that the Reg Army units played by, they were completely scared from what they were faced with, and pretty much quit and cryed about their mistreatment.

Bruised egos mostly but they were not happy about getting handled harder than what loud voices produce.

Razor
10-13-2009, 19:36
Sounds like a worthwhile exercise, but hardly groundbreaking outside of academia. There are a number of national level exercises each year that include the discussion and "exercising" of the legal implications of DOD and LE enforced force protection measures.

casey
10-13-2009, 20:37
My big problem with these types of simulations (well, just all of the ones that I've been involved with) is that they are always highly charged scenarios, with theoretical based time lines and responses leading to certain, predetermined "success" whereby locals, along with state and federal agencies the size of Switzerland can turn on a dime in perceived real time to thwart a series of onrushing catastrophic incidents, followed afterward by the inevitable "hot wash" and glad handing about how we all saved the day.

Three things are of certain outcome:

1. Someone and or some company will make a ton of federal grant money on
this

2. The state and federal entities involved will rarely be the ones actually calling
the shots (or anywhere near an N+24 response) on game day at point zero

3. Present local and federal entities who prior to this simulation wouldn't make
a decision if their dog was on fire, and couldn't make a pinch in a prision
with a hand full of warrants will develop "kabuki theatre balls" and will
begin banging out search warrants for John Q Publics common household
cleaners faster than they would if rosie o'donnell were chasing them with a
fork

Or maybe I'm just a little jaded....

nmap
10-13-2009, 21:02
From my alma mater - the exercise can be viewed via WWW beginning at 0830 CST on 23 Oct 2009.


I wonder if they'll have a write-up with some conclusions? it might illuminate some areas I've wondered about, but I'm not sure I could allocate the time to view the live simulation.