Acting Assistant Secretary Gary Rasicot of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office (CWMD) traveled to Denver, Colorado on June 7, 2023, to observe and participate in a tabletop exercise through the Securing the Cities program, designed to assist the Denver Office of Emergency Management, local law enforcement, local emergency response, and local public health officials plan for and respond to a radiological or nuclear threat. The exercise was held as part of Denver’s participation in the DHS CWMD Securing the Cities (STC) program, which provides equipment, training, and expertise to 13 designated urban areas to enhance preventative radiological and nuclear detection and preparedness.
The lead agency for the Denver STC program is the Office of Emergency Management (OEM). Other Denver-area agencies that participated in the 1-day event are the Colorado State Patrol, the Denver Police Department, the Denver Fire Department, Denver Department Public Health and Environment, and the Denver Health Paramedic Division.
STC is a DHS CWMD program to enhance the nation’s ability to detect and prevent terrorist attacks and other high-consequence events using nuclear or other radiological materials in high-risk urban areas. STC launched in Denver in 2020. In support of the STC mission, CWMD provides detection equipment, training, exercise support, operational and technical subject matter expertise, and programmatic support through a cooperative agreement grant process with eligible U.S. regions.
Denver OEM Executive Manager Matthew Mueller underscores the importance of this tabletop exercise, “this training brought together the critical partners needed to ensure the Denver metro area is ready to respond to domestic radiological and nuclear threats. The STC program has really moved the Denver’s radiological and nuclear preparedness capabilities forward.”
The STC Program was launched by DHS as a pilot program to support major metropolitan areas acquire and train their public safety officers in the use of radiological and nuclear detection equipment.
The Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Act of 2018 expanded the reach and depth of this program to enhance the ability of the United States to detect and prevent terrorist attacks and other high-consequence events utilizing radiological and nuclear materials. CWMD serves as DHS’s focal point for countering weapons of mass destruction efforts. By supporting operational partners across federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial levels, CWMD coordinates DHS efforts to safeguard the United States against chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats.
DHS initiated STC in 2007 as a pilot program to support major metropolitan areas acquire and train their public safety officers in the use of radiological and nuclear detection equipment.
Source: Department of Homeland Security
