SimulationDeck leads National Guard crisis readiness strategy
SimulationDeck leads National Guard crisis readiness strategy.
US Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) partners with other federal, state, and local agencies to conduct Homeland Defense and Civil Support operations to defend, protect, and secure the United States and its interests. A key aspect of that mission is testing and developing the disaster readiness of each state. The Vigilant Guard program challenges the National Guard and partner agencies and organizations across the state to develop response plans to address a realistic disaster scenario.
The Challenge
When crises strike, our nation’s military is among the first to step into harm’s way to respond, where needed. To fulfill that role effectively and safely, the US Department of Defense (DoD) relies on extensive training to prepare its personnel for such circumstances. US Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) partners with entities at the local, state, and national levels to defend, protect, and secure the United States and its interests. Central to USNORTHCOM’s mission is the training and testing of each state’s National Guard to support the state response during an emergency event.
The Approach
Partnering with USNORTHCOM, Nusura uses its cutting-edge information environment simulator, SimulationDeck, to replicate the media environment during a disaster. The platform uses TV broadcast and radio news, an online newspaper, a blogging platform, and a robust social media emulator to create an ultra-realistic training experience.
SimulationDeck immerses exercise players in a lifelike scenario that applies authentic pressure to each decision as the dynamic environment reacts to each player’s actions. Vigilant Guard exercise planners use SimulationDeck to introduce key exercise injects to replicate the roles news and social media contribute to disaster response.
The Results
With Nusura’s help, DoD, state and local agencies, and private-sector partners strengthen critical preparedness and continuity plans to enhance a cohesive response during a real-world emergency event. Training personnel hones strategic communications skills and builds experience in crafting effective, command-compliant messaging to address public concerns.
The multi-media information environment is a critical domain to monitor and offers situational awareness for decision making during emergencies. Nusura is proud to support efforts that prepare our military for the next unfortunate, but inevitable disaster.
THE CLIENT'S INSIGHT
“Using SimulationDeck, we were able to see how a real-world disaster would impact our operations. Watching social media and the news come out so fast put our public messaging mission into perspective. We had to be proactive in putting out information to get ahead of the news cycle — which is what happens in the real world. From my experience, using SimulationDeck in training made our entire unit more prepared to face actual crisis. It really was invaluable to our training."
