Exercise Northstar VII
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Singapore holds anti-terror drill; simulates Mumbai attack
SINGAPORE, July 5 - Singapore will hold its biggest anti-terror drill on Monday, simulating the deadly Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people last year, ahead of hosting an Asia-Pacific summit in November. Exercise North Star VII will involve 2,000 participants from 15 state agencies and media outlets and simulate situations such as concerted terror attacks on hotels, malls and an underground train station, the Singapore Police Force said in a statement.
The exercise, based on November's Mumbai attacks, consists of 10 incidents, from the hijack of a taxi cab in a raid on a hotel to a rampage at a train station, according to plans seen by Reuters.
Singapore, home to regional offices of global firms, the world's busiest sea port and a top regional airport hub, has been safe from a militant sabotage so far, after it foiled a plot to hijack a plane and crash it into the Changi airport in 2002.
Mas Selamat Kastari, the alleged mastermind of the foiled plot and suspected leader of a Singapore radical Islamist group linked to the 2002 Bali bombings, was arrested in Malaysia in April after he escaped from a Singapore jail in February 2008.
The island-state will host an Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in November.
The Singapore Police said the anti-terror drill was not related to the security preparation for the summit, which will host leaders of economic heavy-hitters as the United States, Japan, China and Russia.
The exercise will be in two phases -- July 6-7 and July 15, in which Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will preside over the finale at the resort island of Sentosa, the police said.
--Yahoo News
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NSF all kena sai kang. hahaha
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resort island of Sentosa. sensationalism? :lol:
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Hehe... I didn't go during my NS days...
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dat's kool~
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aiyah......all planned. Whats to show? Even movie stars have performed so combat routines. It its all choreographed then it does not show the true capabilities of our 'force'. We need to see our forces in situations where all is not planned; where they have to really plan on the ground.
As usual, its all wayang.
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I disagree.
Plenty of things to learn from up and down the command chain. It gives the people a certain level of know how to handle the different situations.
You should be glad that its planned. It shows the know how.
Northstar has been based on several events that happened and could happen.
It isnt just arrive on scene and bang bang bang.
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Cmon...you seriously believe they have this 'wayang' exercise to learn from it? It is to put on a show. If they really wanna learn something about hanlding different situations, then have 2 units engage in a simulated war game without any knowledge of what the other is gonna do. What can we learn from a staged exercise when we plan everything from start to finish?
How does planned event shows our know all? Kindly do explain that logic to me.
It is precisely 'arriving on scene, bang bang and thank you very much'. Like i said, its just like an action movie with all choreographed action scenes, where all errors and mistakes are ironed out before the big show.
It's like playing a game with cheats where you can see what know where your enemies are, what capabilities they have, what they will do etc.
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It is not only about the response. It is also about the coordination and planning for it.
There are things that are impossible for you to plan for and react to unless you have been through something similar.
Like you said, where all the errors and mistakes are ironed out.
It is a process of learning, which cannot be done unless you have an ex like this.
It goes all the way up and down the chain.
These are chances to allow the various agencies to iron out and perfect their plans. You misunderstood me. I am not talking about their capabilities of taking down terrorists, those are the individual units/ agencies responsibilities which include rescue operations, firefighting, chem, bio and various other threats.
The main purpose for the northstar exercises are to perfect the coordination of the various Home Team agencies. And to learn from the experiences of other agencies that handled pervious events such as the london, madrid and mumbai attacks.
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Originally posted by Pitot:
It is not only about the response. It is also about the coordination, planning for the response and coordination.
There are things that is impossible for you to plan for and react to unless you have been through something similar.
Like you said, where all the errors and mistakes are ironed out.
It is a process of learning, which cannot be done unless you have an ex like this.
It goes all the way up and down the chain.
There are things to learn from everything; that much i agree. I agree we do need to conduct exercises to learn and understand our capabilities. But if this exercise is done to learn from it, i very much doubt so. It is just a big show for the Asian Summit or whatever event we'll be having. And whos paying for this big show? We know it'll eventually end up being the commoners who will pay. Roads will be closed and business affected jsut so that we can put on a big show to the foreigners and foreign media.
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Did you read the article? It is not for the upcoming APEC summit.
Besides, it is an annual event, APEC is only here this year.
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Ok , my bad but it still wont change my mind of all this being a big wayang exercise and a waste of resources. I know many will disagree but its ok, to each his own. One thing is for sure, i will gladly give my life should ever the time come to fight for my family.
No disrespect to the people who have put in their utmost efforts for this exercise, i really hope that deep down in their hearts, our leaders do have our interests at heart when they planned this annual event and not just as a show.
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Ex Northstar VII tests agency response during simultaneous terror attacks
SINGAPORE: Could Singapore cope if terrorists launched a series of coordinated assaults on the island?
That's the question posed in this year's Exercise Northstar, an annual event to test the emergency response capabilities of the different agencies.
This year's exercise - Northstar VII - simulated the attacks on India's Mumbai city last November, with terrorists launching simultaneous assaults on key public areas.
There are two phases in Exercise Northstar VII. Phase one started on Monday and will continue on Tuesday with scenarios involving public transport and shopping malls.
Phase 2, which takes place next week, will simulate a hostage situation at a hotel.
Fifteen public and private sector organisations are taking part in the exercise this year, including the Defence Ministry, Singapore Civil Defence Force, Maritime and Port Authority, and public transport providers.
On Monday, the simulated scenario started on Sentosa island, with police receiving reports of "gunfire" at a popular bar there. They arrived at the Cafe del Mar within minutes but by then it was a scene of ruins.
10 people were "dead" and 20 more "injured". It was later established that the "attackers" had come in by the sea on small boats, and they were not alone. Other "gunmen" had quickly made their way to hotels in the busy Orchard Road shopping belt, leaving behind a trail of carnage.
For the first time the media was involved as participants, to test how the police would manage and coordinate the dissemination of information in a crisis situation.
Singapore Police Force's assistant director of operations planning, Devrajan Bala, said: "Drawing lessons from Mumbai, we realised that information management is critical as it can compromise our operations if not managed well.
"We also want the media to understand our constraints as we run into an incident like this. We may not be able to give you updates in a very timely manner. Essentially, we're still running the operations so it's critical that you understand operations as they run on the ground."
- CNA/ir -
Exercise Northstar VII - Day 1
The Cafe Del Mar beachfront club at Sentosa was a scene of carnage after terrorists swarmed it at dawn today.
Fortunately it's not for real but a scene played out as 15 different agencies take part in Singapore's largest ever emergency simulation exercise.
Exercise Northstar VII - led by the Singapore Police Force, aims to simulate a major terrorist assault at various locations across the island.
It is similar to the coordinated attacks in Mumbai last year.
For the first time, members of the media were roped in to become role players in Exercise Northstar.
In the scenario, some were supposed to act as demanding journalists all trying their best to obtain as much information as possible about the so-called attack.
Role-playing photographers tried to sneak past the police cordon to capture the best shots.
At times, the simulation appeared too realistic when some members of the media were physically barred from venturing any closer to Cafe Del Mar.
Superintendent Devrajan Bala is the Assistant Director of Operations Planning from the Singapore Police Force.
"In a large scale exercise like this, it is important to bring the media on board, so they'll understand our processes and it's also important because the media will be the one who will bring out information to the public. We also want the media to understand our constraints. We may not be able to give them updates in a timely manner. Bringing them on board the exercise will give them the opportunity to see how we operate. So in a real incident, we could work very closely together."
He said drawing lessons from Mumbai, information management is critical as it can compromise security operations if not managed well.
During the Mumbai seige, some journalists revealed sensitive information to the public.
Soon after this, India strongly discouraged the media from broadcasting footage that could reveal security operations.
It also disallowed live contact with hostages during future rescue missions.
Exercise Northstar VII will be held in places such as Sentosa, Orchard Road, Vivocity and Raffles Place.
Two thousand exercise participants and 350 role players are taking part in it.
During today's exercise, holiday makers near Cafe Del Mar appeared calm and collected even though Singapore's security forces were spotted in full gear, metres away from them.That's because Sentosa Development Corporation has informed them some five days in advance about Exercise Northstar VII.
The company's Deputy Director of Communications, Suzanne Ho.
"In preparation for this exercise, we kept out stakeholders informed such as the hotels, various attractions, our residents at Sentosa Cove as well as our golf club members. In any situation, our rangers or island security will work closely with the state agencies to manage a crisis. We will continue to provide updates to our island partners in order to ensure that the information flow is kept going."
Ms Ho pointed out that the Corporation reached out to more than 1000 guests in the island's six hotels as well as the some 2300 residents of Sentosa Cove.
The first phase of the Exercise Northstar VII will be held over two days, starting today.
Phase 2 will be held on Wednesday next week.
--938Live
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Let me gib u my 2 sen ok...here goes...
To win the World Cup, Brazil also practice and practice. That's why they win and almost everyone knows that Brazilian soccer is the best. In the same way huh, it is good la that Sg government and all agencies are preparing and practising during the exercise northstar so that they will be ready to defend Singapore and protect Singapore when such a day comes.
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Exercise Northstar VII : Day 2 - at Raffles Place MRT station
The sound of gun fire rang out at Raffles Place MRT station early this morning.
This simulated attack by terrorists is part of Singapore's largest ever emergency exercise - Northstar VII.
It is led by the Singapore Police Force and involves 14 other agencies.
They include the Singapore Armed Forces, the Home Affairs Ministry and SMRT.
The team of two terrorists meant business.
They opened fire on other commuters as soon as they alighted from a Westbound train arriving from Marina Bay.
The carnage didn't just stop there.
The men went up an escalator and mowed down a group of curious onlookers in a hail of bullets.
But their trail of destruction came to an end when police officers from the Special Operations Command arrived at the scene to neutralise the attack.
This realistic test scenario aims to validate the operational readiness of emergency response plans.
The site's Incident Commander was Superintendent Lee Ping Yue from the Central Police Division.
She says, based on previous attacks in Mumbai and London, terrorists tend to target public transportation hubs.
She gives her assurance that the force is ready to handle real life emergencies should they take place.
"The first thing is of course, to evacuate the MRT station - to get the people out quickly. What the police will do is also to create a cordon outside the MRT station and prevent unauthorised persons from coming in."
SMRT staff members are also trained to handle emergencies.
Its Deputy Director of Security and Emergency Planning, Choy Kin Chong.
"In a normal situation, our security personnel and staff will be able to, based on our training, recognise suspicious people, looking at people who carry backpacks and they would in all probability stop them for a bag check. We have an organisation comprising about 700 people who will be activated to respond to an incident like this."
Exercise Northstar VII simulates a major terrorist assault at various locations islandwide.
Two thousand exercise participants and 350 role players are taking part in it.
--938Live
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NorthStar anti-terror drill moves to Vivocity shopping centre
SINGAPORE: The NorthStar exercise moved on Tuesday to Vivocity where security forces handled a major "terrorist attack" at a shopping centre.
NorthStar is an annual event to test the emergency response capabilities of the different agencies. This year's drill, codenamed Exercise NorthStar VII, simulated the attacks on India's Mumbai city last November, with terrorists launching simultaneous assaults on key public areas.
NorthStar VII is conducted over two phases. Phase one started on Monday where a terrorist scenario was enacted on Sentosa Island.
The exercise continued on Tuesday where the focus was on how the authorities worked closely with community partners like shopping centres when tackling a terrorist attack on such premises.
This time, the exercise scenario was at Vivocity with "terrorist" attacks on three fronts. The "terrorists" landed via speedboat at the Singapore Cruise Centre, moved on to the Cable Car Towers and advanced towards the Vivocity Shopping Centre through a link bridge from HarbourFront.
The Jurong Police Headquarters received calls of "shooting incidents" at Vivocity. They swung into action, with the Special Police Forces mounting the operations.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Cheang Keng Keong, Commander of Jurong Police Division, said: "One particular point we note is the involvement of the Project Guardian officers who are actually the security officers of Vivocity itself.
"It is reassuring to note that the Vivocity management can effectively carry out their crisis management plans and assist the police in their role in this situation."
One of the key units involved in the exercise at Vivocity was the Police STAR unit which has been specially trained to handle counter terrorism incidents in Singapore.
According to the Police Force, those who serve in the STAR unit must have a high level of mental and physical resilience and courage. It was formed in November 1993 to provide the Police Force with the highest level of tactical armed response.
Phase one of NorthStar VII ended with the exercise at Vivocity. Phase two of the drill will be conducted next week.
- CNA/ir -
btw.. you know about the "wayang" as you put it?
places conduct fire drills..
although many think it's wayang, it enables people to learn where to walk to, what to do.. all that.. even when people dismiss these things as a waste of time...
all the planning and talking and emails and posters don't do a damned thing... all you got to do is to make everyone do the thing once.. and they'll know what to do in times of emergency...
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New counter-terror SOC officers debut at Exercise Northstar
SINGAPORE: The Special Operations Command (SOC) division of the Singapore Police Force is well known for its anti-riot capabilities.
But bystanders might have noticed something different about them during the anti-terrorism Exercise Northstar VII at various locations earlier this week.
Instead of riot police emerging from the unit's signature red vans, members of the public saw heavily-armed troopers. That was because it was the first time the SOC was testing out its counter-terrorist capabilities.
Since September 11 and the more recent Mumbai attacks, SOC has been upgrading its capabilities to match the most sophisticated terrorist.
Arthur Law, head of operations, SOC, said: "The public security role of SOC has been beefed up with tactical skills and specialised equipment to enable the trooper of today to counter rampaging terrorists and engage in close quarter battle with armed subjects.
"The SOC troop can also be easily reconfigured into smaller and more nimble fighting units to be deployed island wide."- CNA/vm
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Something like HK's PTU.
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Exercise Northstar tests Singapore response to terrorist attack
SINGAPORE: Singapore's response to a simulated land and sea assault by terrorists on the resort hotel of Sentosa was tested out in the final phase of Exercise Northstar on Wednesday morning.
This year's exercise attempted to re-create simultaneous terror attacks similar to the Mumbai incident last November.
Witnessing the hour-long drill at the Rasa Sentosa Hotel and Beach Resort were Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and several cabinet ministers.
The exercise involved multi agencies coordinating security matters.
The simulated sea assault saw terrorists infiltrating Singapore's territorial waters in a motorised boat.
They were intercepted by the Maritime Security Task Force and later defeated by the Police Coast Guard.
On land, terrorists attempted to hold several guests hostage.
Special operations command troopers and the Singapore Armed Force's special operations task force were then deployed to defeat the terrorists.
Said Prime Minister Lee: "On the one hand it depends on quick reflexes to an uncertain moving foggy situation. On the other hand it depends on many years of patient building up of the capabilities, building up of the units, training the people.
"So when you see something happen today, when helicopters, the commandos, the police, it's just that they are alert and ready to go but we have spent a long time doing this. And that is what our safety and security and peace of mind and stability and prosperity depends on, and we are very grateful to the Home Team and the SAF for keeping us safe"
- CNA/yb -
Bombings at jakarta hotels today.
Timely reminder as to why Northstar exercises are so important.