Emergency Management Exercises: From Response to Recovery: Everything you need to know to design a great exercise

Was first introduced to this book during my Masters Program for Emergency Management and have used it ver since graduating. This book keeps things extremely simple and practical for anyone developing and implementing emergency exercises or any type of dynamic training. I used this as a former LE Officer for simple patrol to division level exercises, Active Shooter Exercises and Training, and so on. From simple to complicated exercises development, this book is a great reference tool. Now Im an a traditional Emergency Managers and training role, I keep going back to this book.

This book is excellently written in plain language and shares concepts in a context that allows the reader to easily translate the information conveyed into action. The author has a goal in this book to teach the reader how to design effective emergency response exercises and she achieves it very well. After reading this book, and the accompanying instructors guide, I was able to create an exercise design program that has taken our exercises to another level, with consistent methodologies and a process that centers around the most important question “why are we doing this exercise”. There are many programs and publications out there in the field of emergency management that tell you how to plan or organize an exercise or program, but this book tells you how to actually design an exercise that makes an impact. A perfect accompaniment to HSEEP, or, frankly, a substitute for it.

This is a genuine how-to manual (unlike some books by consultants which are thinly veiled marketing gambits to promote their advisory services).Likely readersThe book is designed for leaders responsible for emergency management, business continuity, and/or disaster recovery who have to train their staffs and other line and functional managers and specialists to be prepared for various unpleasant possibilities. Old-hands will use the book as robust checklist for staging their next exercise. Thoughtful first-timers can follow the step-by-step framework and directions to success.ScopePhelps introduces the full range of emergency management exercises - from orientations to multi-site exercises - but she really focuses on three types: orientation, tabletop, and functional. She lays out the what, why, how, who, where, and when for each.FeaturesYou might think of her doing both the play-by-play and color commentary on the exercises at the same time. She takes you though the process step by step, but she's also standing off to the side and kibitzing about actions that are critical, tricks she's learned over the years, and things she believes are goofy. (She uses exclamation marks liberally so you get a cheerleader along with the two announcers.)Most process steps are laid out in quick-to-read "bullets" which come in handy for reviewing later. Throughout the book, she summarizes key points and provides charts and tables that distill the highlights.NegativesThe casual language and informal writing style might annoy some English majors, but the text will be welcomed by readers who want a candid, cut-to-the-chase primer. As for the price, consider what you would pay her to show up for a couple of hours, let alone a whole day - when you can do it yourself with a few colleagues.

This is one of the most useful work related books I have ever purchased. Whether you are seasoned or not, this book has numerous tips and ideas for making your next exercise a success. Emergency Management Exercises: From Response to Recovery is a well organized guide for those responsible for designing recovery exercises. Even if you are an exercise expert, I would bet this has an idea, or many ideas, that can add to your arsenal.

There is no shortage of books available to help security managers deal comprehensively with creating, conducting, and evaluating emergency exercises. Emergency Management Exercises: From Response to Recovery, is the latest to tackle this subject. And it does an excellent job of pulling together the key elements in this area. There are some small weaknesses in this book. It is a bit pricey and it has neither index nor bibliography to help the reader. Her identification of "six types of exercises" seems to needlessly distinguish some forms from others: for example, her separation of "full scale" from "multi-site" as types of exercises (she is, of course, entitled to categorize as she sees fit.) However, these are relatively minor and do not detract from the overall quality of this book.

The author did a great job of providing the ABC's to exercise design, facilitation and execution in a logical and simple format to follow outlining the types of exercises used by organizations to test their plans. The information is comprehensive, and also makes for a great reference tool at a later date. I highly recommend this book for individuals who are responsible for developing and delivering emergency management exercises. You will not be disappointed!

A great instructional manual on emergency preparedness exercises. I’ve been an emergency manager for a dozen years and created/conducted all types of exercises. I still found this a good read and it added to my knowledge.

Arrived quickly and new as listed.