While the program has been teaching ICS 300 in person for a number of years, the course was expanded last year to offer virtual offerings as well. The success of this course was due in part to an engaged cadre of students participating from across NOAA, including multiple line offices as well as the Homeland Security Program Office. 

Students participated in a hands-on learning environment through a series of role playing activities designed to mimic the expansion of an incident response. Roles throughout the simulated response began at the local level and progressed to the level of a NOAA Incident Management Team reporting to senior leadership. The course covered classic ICS principles to ensure NOAA staff understands the language of the National Incident Management System and Incident Command System. Familiarity with this terminology is vital when working on an incident response with federal, state, and local governments as well as partner agencies. Students also learned about the NOAA All Hazards Incident Management Concept of Operations plan and how different NOAA line offices respond. 

The DPP will be holding another virtual offering of ICS-300 coming up on May 16-19, 2022. This course is open to NOAA staff only. If you are NOAA staff, federal or contractor, and are interested in registering for the May session of ICS-300, please contact Kim.Albins@noaa.gov. Space for the course is limited so don’t delay!