Office of Grants and Training Preparedness Directorate U.S. Department of Homeland Security Washington, DC 20531 G&T Information Bulletin No. 206 May 11, 2006 TO All State Administrative Agency Heads All State Administrative Agency Points of Contact All State Homeland Security Directors All Urban Area Core City/Core County Points of Contact FROM: Tracy A. Henke Assistant Secretary, Office of Grants and Training SUBJECT: Temporary Suspension of Direct Exercise Support At the direction of DHS Secretary Chertoff, the Preparedness Directorate’s Office of Grants and Training (G&T) is providing direct support for two major exercise initiatives designed to address pressing national priorities: the Hurricane Preparedness Exercises (HPE) under way in five regions along the Gulf and East Coasts, and 75 full-scale exercises in states and urban areas to validate tactical interoperable communications plans (TICP). The HPE began in May and will continue through June. The TICP exercises also will begin this month and continue through September 30, 2006. Due to the large number and abbreviated timelines for these two exercise priorities, G&T’s Training and Exercise Division must refocus resources and exercise support teams on these priority initiatives. For this reason, G&T is temporarily suspending all new requests for direct exercise support. Jurisdictions that have already been approved for direct exercise support will not be affected by this suspension; the planning and execution of your exercise will continue as scheduled. Requests for direct support submitted after dissemination of this Information Bulletin will be held until further notice, reviewed in the order in which they are received, and approved based on the availability of resources. This includes requests for the following: -HSEEP Mobile Training Course -Direct Support Exercises (other than HPE and TICP) -Training and Exercise Plan Workshops The Direct Support Exercise Program will resume as soon as resources allow. In the interim, please direct questions to your G&T Exercise Manager or email questions to: hseep@dhs.gov.