Homeland defense war game tests interoperability.

• Author: Pappalardo, Joe
• Position: Homeland Defense Briefs - Brief Article

The U.S. Coast Guard and National Guard participated for the first time in a homeland defense war game that melded domestic and international participants. The exercise, called the joint warrior interoperability demonstration, tested communications and command and control systems.

In the scenario, a fictional, terrorist-harboring African nation revealed intelligence about a radiological bomb threat against Detroit. Information had to move from European agencies that discovered the plot on the ground in Africa to the U.S. Northern Command and from there, information had to be distributed to domestic U.S. agencies.

The intent of the war game was to find the best ways to share information from different agencies. "We have always worked closely with local agencies. The biggest struggle we're having now is how to integrate data networks," said Coast Guard Lt. Al Yelvington, a JWID participant at Dahlgren Naval Surface Warfare Center, Va.

The National Guard had participated in earlier JWIDs but never in a homeland defense role. The exercise solidified its coordination with other agencies and tested the tools...