Bio-War Exercise Tested Emergency Response

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SECURITY BEAT

A recent regional exercise served as a national test bed for bio-terrorism response for states and counties. The McAlester Army Ammunition Plant, about 90 miles south of Tulsa, Okla., was a participant in a community-wide exercise that simulated a plague attack, followed immediately by the appropriate response, said the plants commander, Army Col. Jyuji Hewitt. The McAlester plant, a Tier I depot, is the prime producer of bombs for the Navy and the Air Force.

The exercise began with a small airplane spraying a liquid, simulating a toxin that would cause plague, over an area that encompassed three counties. Then, first responders worked together to call upon …