Massive Training Operation Set For Ocean City Next Weekend

OCEAN CITY — Helicopters will swirl around the skies, Navy vessels will set up offshore and hundreds of first-responders from dozens of agencies will be running around the downtown area next Saturday, but there will be no need to panic.

Coordinated by the Maryland National Guard and mandated by Gov. Larry Hogan, Operation Tourist Boom will be conducted at different locations all over the downtown Ocean City area next Saturday afternoon. Allied federal, state and local agencies along with private sector groups and quasi-public organizations will be participating in the operation, which will include an active shooter exercise, a simulated vehicle assault with multiple casualties, a ship-boarding exercise off the coast, a simulated bomb detonation and a handful of other exercises will be part of the operation.

Operation Tourist Boom is designed to test the local, state and federal agencies’ ability to coordinate a measured response to the types of emergency situations that have occurred in other areas in recent years. The operation will include local agencies such as Ocean City Emergency Services, the Ocean City Police Department, the Ocean City Fire Department and EMS, the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office, the Maryland State Police, the Maryland Natural Resources Police and U.S. Park Police from Assateague. State and federal agencies scheduled to participate include the Maryland National Guard, the U.S. Coast Guard and even the U.S. Navy.

According to a release from the coordinating agency, over 600 Maryland National Guard soldiers from all around the state will participate and work in coordination with the Maryland Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) and dozens of local, state and federal agencies. The total estimated number of participants in the various exercises is expected to top 1,100.

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