Out of 47 “scenarios” being practiced by first responders during Urban Shield 2013 this October 25 – 28 in the San Francisco Bay Area, at least 20 of them are “domestic” – either stated explicitly, or implied (see below in BOLD CAPS) – and possibly more.
Overall, the scenarios vary widely in scope – up to and including “odor investigation” – but the “domestic terrorists” are generally characterized as being anything from “anarchists” (Tea Partiers? Christians? Patriots?) to “homegrown” terrorists (recent American-Moslem converts duped into FBI-sting operations?)
Interesting to note that, as of this writing, the English “Urban Shield” Wikipedia entry has disappeared… but you can still get it in French. (Too bad for you if you don’t read French.)
However, there is still a brief mention of Urban Shield in the English Wikipedia entry for the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office (ASCO).
According to Wikipedia’s ASCO entry, Urban Shield is the largest urban “SWAT” exercise in America. Always held in autumn, it provides “opportunities” for first-responder teams from all over the nation to train in what appears to be mostly “terrorist” scenarios.
(As an aside – since I scan the news feeds daily – I’ve been noticing variations of ALL these “scenarios” making the news on a regular basis, including recently locking down an entire school district in Richmond, California due to an “odor investigation”… for an odor which turned out to be from a smelly barge starting its engine several miles outside the city limits. Oh, the hysteria.)
You should also be pleased and comforted to note that among the many “public/private partners” (and corporate sponsors) taking part in this year’s Urban Shield will be the Boy Scouts, FedEx and Verizon Wireless.
And, in addition to the 18 federal agencies listed (including Louisiana State University?), there will also be 12 foreign countries keeping us safe from domestic terrorists: Israel, Brazil, Guam, Israeli Yamam, Norway, Switzerland, France, Jordan, Bahrain, Singapore, Canada and Qatar.
With all this “help” – in what is turning out to be a huge multi-billion dollar industry – it makes you wonder who is keeping us safe from the “helpers?”
Scenario #1: Fitness Assessment/Confidence Course
Scenario #2: Medical Checkpoint #1
SCENARIO #3: INTELLIGENCE SURVEILLANCE RECONNAISSANCE
Tactical teams will be provided a scenario in which they must rescue a judge from a Homegrown Violent Extremists group. Teams will be tested on their ability to develop a plan of action.
Host: Alameda County Sheriff’s Office – Black Command
Location: Alameda County Firearms Training Facility
Sponsors: TCI Tactical Command Industries
Fulcrum Concepts LLC
ZMB Industries
Zistos Portable Video Systems
SCENARIO #4: COLLEGE CAMPUS HOSTAGE RESCUE
Tactical teams will be evaluated on their ability to transition between many different tactics based on a rapidly evolving, dynamic scenario.
Host: Livermore Police Department – Black Command
Location: Las Positas Community College
Sponsor: VieVu-Video Cameras
SCENARIO #5: SWAT & K9 INTEGRATION DURING DEPLOYMENT
Tactical teams will coordinate with K9 units to search a rural wooded area for suspected narco-terrorists who recently murdered one CHP officer and wounded another.
Host: Alameda County Sheriff’s Office – Black Command
Location: Del Valle Regional Park Property
Sponsor: None listed
SCENARIO #6: HIGH SCHOOL CAMPUS ASSAULT
Tactical teams will properly respond to a terrorist attack at a school, testing their ability to operate under fire, and rescue hostages.
Host: Fremont Police Department – Gold Command
Location: Coyote Hills Shooting Range, Fremont
Sponsor: 5.11 Tactical Series
TCI Tactical Command Industries
SCENARIO #7: ANARCHIST REFINERY BOMBER
Teams are presented with a scenario testing their ability to operate in a large open area and minimize damage to critical infrastructure.
Host: Redwood City Police Department – Silver Command
Location: Port of Redwood City
Sponsor: Digital Sandbox
Scenario #8: Water Treatment Facility WMD Attack
SCENARIO #9: DOMESTIC TERRORIST WATERSHED TAKEOVER
Tactical teams will be evaluated on their ability to respond to a chemical attack while mitigating further terrorist activity and rescuing hostages.
Host: San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office – Silver Command
Location: Crystal Springs Reservoir
Sponsor: Fraser Optics
Scenario #10: Medical Checkpoint #2
SCENARIO #11: HIGH RISK SEARCH WARRANT
Tactical teams will be presented with a scenario to work in conjunction with the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to successfully execute a buy-bust search warrant.
Host: Drug Enforcement Agency – Silver Command
Location: Simunitions Training Warehouse, South San Francisco
Sponsor: None listed
SCENARIO #12: COMMUNITY JUSTICE CENTER TAKEOVER
Teams are provided a scenario testing their ability to work in a confined area under duress.
Host: San Francisco Sheriff’s Department – Green Command
Location: San Bruno Jail Complex
Sponsor: Securus Technologies
ATK Force On Force
SCENARIO #13: EXTREMIST MANHUNT
Tactical teams will respond to violent terrorist(s) who have gunned down an undercover agent and taken hostages.
Host: San Francisco Sheriff’s Department – Green Command
Location: San Bruno Jail Complex
Sponsor: Securus Technologies
ATK Force On Force
Scenario #14: Terrorist Attack on Public Transit
SCENARIO #15: TRANSAMERICA PYRAMID CENTER TAKEOVER
This scenario was developed to test tactical teams response to a homegrown terrorist attack on a San Francisco high rise building.
Host: San Francisco Sheriff’s Department – Green Command
Location: Transamerica Pyramid Center
Sponsor: Digital Sandbox
Scenario #16: Human Trafficking Interdiction
Scenario #17: Medical Checkpoint #3
Scenario #18: Laboratory Takeover
Scenario #19: Parking Structure WMD Dispersal Device
Scenario #20: Critical Infrastructure Assault (SF-Oakland Bay Bridge)
Scenario #21: Commuter Train Assault
Scenario #22: Maritime Interdiction
Scenario #23: Military Installation Assault
Scenario #24: Airplane Hijacking
Scenario #25: Medical Checkpoint #4
Scenario #26: Vehicle Assault (Old Mervyn’s Headquarters)
Scenario #27: Dignitary Rescue
Scenario #28: High Rise Rappelling
Scenario #29: Chemical Sabotage
SCENARIO #30: DOMESTIC TERRORIST SCHOOL TAKEOVER
Tactical teams will be provided an active shooter scenario testing their ability to effectively engage the terrorist(s) and effect a rescue of the hostage(s).
Host: Alameda County Sheriff’s Office – Blue Command
Location: Canyon Middle School, Castro Valley
Sponsor: Black OPS Airsoft
Applanix A Trimble Company
Scenario #31: Hospital Assault
Scenario #32: Technology Showcase
EOD Scenario #1: Explosive Ordnance Disposal Response 1
EOD Scenario #2: Explosive Ordnance Disposal Response 2
EOD SCENARIO #3: EXPLOSIVE ORDNANCE DISPOSAL RESPONSE 3
Two teams work together to enter a booby trapped apartment, render safe a number of booby traps, and analyze chemicals present for their use in IEDs.
Host: Alameda County Sheriff’s Office – Black Command
Location: Alameda County EOD Bomb Range
Sponsor: HazMasterG3
FIRE SCENARIO #1: ENVIRONMENTAL TERRORIST SABOTAGE
Responding US&R task force teams will be confronted with multiple and conflicting priorities while freeing two trapped construction workers.
Host: South San Francisco Fire Department – Red Command
Location: South San Francisco Fire Department Trench Rescue Training Site
Sponsor: MES Municipal Emergency Services Inc.
FIRE SCENARIO #2: IED EXPLOSION IN A CONFINED SPACE
An IED placed in a refinery pipe maze by environmental terrorists is accidentally detonated by bomb squad personnel while attempting to render the device safe.
Host: South San Francisco Fire Department – Red Command
Location: South San Francisco Vehicle and Equipment Maintenance Facility
Sponsor: FoxFury Personal Lighting Solutions
FIRE SCENARIO #3: BUILDING COLLAPSE
A member of the Sovereign Citizen movement has driven a truck into a government building which resulted in a partial building collapse and fire.
Host: South San Francisco Fire Department – Red Command
Location: South San Francisco Fire Department Collapse Structure Training Facility
Sponsor: Parrot AR Drone
FIRE SCENARIO #4: HIGH-ANGLE RESCUE
The sniper attack on a government high-rise building by a Homegrown Violent Extremist (HVE) has left two window washers injured.
Host: South San Francisco Fire Department – Red Command
Location: Boston Properties, South San Francisco
Sponsor: None listed
FIRE SCENARIO #5 AND 11: COOPERATIVE USAR/HAZMAT RESPONSE
US&R and Hazmat task-force teams will cooperatively respond to a car bomb detonated by extremists that has resulted in a collapse of a medical research facility.
Host: South San Francisco Fire Department – Red Command
Location: Alexandria Development Building, South San Francisco
Sponsor: Western Shelter Systems
Grainger
Applanix A Trimble Company
Fire Scenario #6: Terrorist Bus Hijacking/Low-Angle Rescue
FIRE SCENARIO #7: CLANDESTINE DRUG LAB EXPLOSION
An explosion of an IED at a clandestine drug lab has resulted in members of a SWAT team and other first responders becoming contaminated with unknown chemicals.
Host: South San Francisco Fire Department – Red Command
Location: South San Francisco Vehicle and Equipment Mainenance Facility
Sponsor: None listed
Fire Scenario #8: Odor Investigation
Fire Scenario #9: Cargo Container Sabotage
FIRE SCENARIO #10: MONITORING/DETECTION DIRTY BOMB ATTACK
Members of an anarchist group have detonated a dirty bomb in the mail room of a credit card processing facility, resulting in exposure to employees.
Host: South San Francisco Fire Department – Red Command
Location: Boston Properties, South San Francisco
Sponsor: MES Municipal Emergency Services Inc.
Fire Scenario #12: Arson Fire
SOURCES:
http://www.urbanshield.org
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ blogs/ on-leadership/ wp/ 2013/ 10/ 11/ the-tea-party-is-giving-anarchism-a-bad-name/
http://www.examiner.com/article/another-terrorism-report-demonizes-christian-patriots-preppers
http://www.investigativeproject.org/1341/the-creeping-homegrown-threat
Why Are the Feds Cultivating Their Own “Homegrown Terrorists”?
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_shield
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alameda_County_Sheriff%27s_Office
http://www.alamedacountysheriff.org/
San Francisco Bay Area Urban Shield 2013 Overview Presentation
http://info.publicintelligence.net/AlamedaCountyUrbanShield2013.pdf
http://www.contracostatimes.com/west-county-times/ci_24267003/richmond-residents-report-strong-gas-odor
http://www.contracostatimes.com/west-county-times/ci_24276573/gas-smell-that-enveloped-richmond-came-from-disabled
