In Brief

Operation Border Safe

First responders from the United States and Canada met in Vermont on Oct. 26, 2004, to take part in Operation Border Safe.

By Daintry Duffy

February 01, 2005 — CSO — First responders from the United States and Canada met in Vermont on Oct. 26, 2004, to take part in Operation Border Safe. The daylong event used tabletop exercises, developed by the Department of Homeland Security, to address cross-border terrorism incidents. The mock incidents were played out on screens to test how participants would respond if weapons of mass destruction were used in the border area of Northern Vermont and the nearby Quebec region. Participants viewed the mock incidents and discussed how they would respond.

And how they could respondlegallyplayed a large part in the discussions. The simulations gave the 150 participants the opportunity to wrestle with jurisdictional issues that near-border attacks would create.

Vermont was the first out of the gate, but training is available to first responders in every state along the U.S.-Canadian and U.S.-Mexican borders.

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