The Maine Emergency Management Agency's Exercise Program, aligned with the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP), is designed to enhance the preparedness and resilience of our communities. The program helps state agencies, tribal, county, local governments, along with first responders, volunteers and elected officials to test and improve their emergency response plans through realistic exercises. By simulating incidents such as natural disasters and public safety threats, we identify strengths, address gaps, and build stronger coordination across all levels of government and organizations, ensuring a safer and more prepared state.
This readiness is implemented through a building block process of seminars, workshops, tabletop exercises, games, drills, functional exercises, and full scale exercises.
Want to hold an exercise but aren't sure where to begin? Contact one of the following personnel based on your location or affiliation:
State Exercises
Deborah Lord, State Exercise Officer
memapreparedness@maine.gov
County or Local Exercises
Specific contacts coming soon. In the meantime, please visit your County EMA website.
Levels of Exercise
- Discussion based exercises focus on conversation and decision-making. Participants discuss their roles, responsibilities, and responses without executing actions in real-time.
- Seminar: Lecture based in the form of presentations by Subject Matter Expert’s with limited feedback or interaction from participants.
- Workshop: Lectures, presentations, panel or case-study discussions facilitated by a workshop facilitator/presenter.
- Tabletop: Scenario based where players apply their knowledge and skills to discuss and work through the problems. Discussion is led by a facilitator using a Situation Manual or Placemat, presentation, EEG and Feedback Forms.
- Operational based exercises involve the simulation of actual response activities. Participants actively carry out response actions to test operational capabilities.
- Drill: Coordinated, supervised activity to validate a specific function or capability in a single agency/organization.
- Functional: Events are projected through a realistic exercise scenario with controllers typically utilizing a MSEL with injects driving simulated play without deploying actual resources or personnel
- Full Scale: Simulates a real-life emergency scenario as closely as possible. Involves the deployment of resources, personnel, and equipment. A MSEL must be created to drive players actions.
Resources and Curriculum
Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) Overview
Exploring Tabletop Exercises.pdf