States such as Florida continue to rally their First Responders to prepare for biological disasters. These types of exercises require explicit planning, down to the minute detail, with inter-agency and cross disciplines cooperating. As was seen in early April with TOPPOFF 3 (WAR Report), these exercises are complex. Brevard County, known as the ?Space Coast? to Florida residents, spans 72+ miles along the Atlantic Ocean and is home to the Kennedy Space Center. This county has historically pulled off a major exercise each year since 9/11 . In June 2003, the focus was on incidents aboard aircraft. The May 2004 exercise simulated a terrorist attack aboard a cruise ship, and in November of the same year, the Brevard County Community College led an exercise in which they simulated a meth lab explosion.

This is a good example of how a county in Florida, where the state?s major industry is tourism, is taking preventative action to prepare for a possible terrorist attack. These type of exercises serve not only operational experience, but they also give people a sense of comfort that their local government can protect them. Since 9/11, the state has suffered in tourism, and the hurricanes of 2004 also set back the state considerably.