Critical Decision Making for Complex Coordinated Terrorist Attacks (PER-335)
Every community is vulnerable to challenging public safety situations such as the following:
- An active shooter at a shopping mall
- The Derailment of a train transporting hazardous chemicals
- A bombing incident in a commercial district
- A plane crash
- A chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear (CBRN) attack or accident
These types of incidents require all available resources and may expand past a single
jurisdiction’s capabilities. Because one
single agency is unlikely to be equipped to handle one such incident, it is critical
that effective and efficient coordination efforts
be in place among cooperative agencies. Now imagine the possibility of more than one
of these situations being deliberately
orchestrated to occur simultaneously. Attacks may be in the same geographical area
or spread across a region. These attacks,
known as complex coordinated terrorist attacks (CCTAs), involve multiple threats that
often exceed conventional response tactics.
These attacks require a joint response involving members from various disciplines
and jurisdictions.
Using classroom instruction and practical exercises, this course enhances the response
capabilities of first responders during
CCTAs. Topics covered during classroom instruction include characteristics of a CCTA,
public safety response considerations,
command operations and strategies, and critical information about situational and
domain awareness. This course uses several
notable case studies to provide real-life examples of the characteristics of a CCTA.
Tabletop exercises allow participants to interact with responders from other disciplines
to effectively address a variety of CCTA
scenarios. Participants will work together to identify critical
Min/Max Enrollment: Min 30; Max 40
Hours: 16 (Direct Delivery)
Format: Direct Delivery
DHS Course #: PER-335
Facility Requirements: Please view this document for facility requirements.
Professional Disciplines
Law Enforcement, Fire Service, Emergency Medical Services
The target audience for the Direct Delivery version of this course includes:
- Emergency responders: police, fire, and emergency medical services personnel, including those who are most likely to assume command at some point during a response to a complex coordinated attack.