Cadets taking the Combating Terrorism Center’s Homeland Security and Defense course participated in the 5th Annual Crisis Simulation Exercise at the Fire Department of New York City’s Operations Center on April 17, 2013. The joint endeavor by the CTC and FDNY’s Center for Terrorism and Disaster Preparedness is a substantial professional development experience that forces cadets to apply lessons learned in the classroom to a simulated crisis such as a terrorist attack, an earthquake, or a large hurricane hitting lower Manhattan. Several preparatory events took place throughout the semester, culminating in this day-long functional exercise. This year’s edition utilized real-world data and footage from Hurricane Sandy to test the cadets’ leadership and problem solving skills under the expert tutelage of New York City’s bravest. Course director Mr. Brian Dodwell and CTC instructors LTC Jon Brickey, Mr. Joe Quinn, and Mr. Eric Joyce worked with Assistant Chief and CTC Senior Fellow Joe Pfeifer and his team to make the experience as realistic as possible. In addition to meeting FDNY Commissioner Salvatore Cassano, cadets had to brief BG Ray Shields (NY National Guard), CPT Gordon Loebl (USCG, NYC Captain of Port), COL Paula Gregory (NORTHCOM) and Chief Pfeifer.
