All exercise support requests must be sponsored by an SLTT government organization.
- Nonprofit, private sector, and federal entities can submit requests on the condition that the support request is co-sponsored by an SLTT government organization.
- Academic institutions that are state funded can submit a request and receive support without a co-sponsor.
- Private academic institutions must submit a request that is co-sponsored by an SLTT government organization.
All support requests must be reviewed by the appropriate FEMA Regional Exercise Officer (REO) prior to submission.
Important Dates
- Discussion-based exercises support will only be provided for those with a conduct date of November 4, 2024, or later.
- Operations-based exercises support will only be provided for those with a conduct date of February 2, 2025, or later.
- The NEP inbox should receive your exercise support request packages no later than 11:59 PM ET on the designated submission date of March 1, 2024.
Required Documentation
- Completed or draft plan to be exercised.
- The current Integrated Preparedness Plan (IPP) that your exercise is a part of, if available.
- Corrective actions from past real-world events or exercises.
- Finalized After-Action Report/Improvement Plan from a previously supported NED exercise, for sponsors that have previously received support from the NED.
Missing documentation will require a meeting with the NED to obtain clarification and information.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is An Exercise Series Eligible for Support?
It is possible to receive support for an exercise series. You can choose to either submit multiple exercises from a series to the same support request round or split submissions over multiple rounds depending on development timeline. You are required to submit separate Exercise Support Requests for each exercise in your series.
It is not guaranteed that every exercise submitted as part of a series will be accepted for NED support.
Can I Receive NED Support to Develop Real-World After-Action Reports?
Real-world After-Action Report development is not eligible for NED support; any submitted support requests for real-world After-Action Reports will not be considered.
My Jurisdiction Does Not Need Any Exercise Support From NED, Can I Still Participate in the NEP?
After-Action Reports (AARs) contain crucial data that, when viewed in the aggregate with exercises conducted nationwide, provide vital insights into preparedness trends and help shape priorities for the nation’s exercises. Sponsors interested in sharing AAR results can submit data directly to the National Exercise Program.
Exercise Support Request Submission Review and Rating Process
NED Exercise Program Managers (EPMs) and Regional Exercise Officers (REOs) review each exercise support request, prioritizing requests based on the documentation submitted and the pre-decisional scoping call outcomes. Additionally, each request is scored out of a total of 100 points based on an algorithm that extracts data from the Exercise Support Request (ESR) Form. The figure below shows how the combination of the score and panel priority work together to inform which exercise are supported.
FEMA Regional Exercise Officers
Exercise sponsors should coordinate closely with their appropriate Regional Exercise Officer (REO) throughout the exercise support process.
| Region | Regional Exercise Officer | States/Territories |
|---|---|---|
| Region 01 | Kerri-Ann Trepanier | Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont |
| Region 02 | Devin Kerins | New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands |
| Region 03 | Chris Nemcheck | Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, District of Columbia and West Virginia |
| Region 04 | Jimmie Bell | Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee |
| Region 05 | Marc Chmielewski | Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin |
| Region 06 | Justin Breeding | Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas |
| Region 07 | John Bissen | Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska |
| Region 08 | David Ouimet | Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming |
| Region 09 | Kevin Wasiewski Erik Iwanaga | Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Guam, American Samoa, Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands , Republic of Marshall Islands and Federated States of Micronesia |
| Region 10 | Stephen Simerly | Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington |