On Wednesday, Oct. 6 and Thursday, Oct. 7, a readiness drill to test new communication and inter-agency cooperation will be held at Nicholls State and at other area locations.Students and area residents should expect a heightened level of activity from local emergency management agencies on both days. The live demonstration exercise is being held by local, state and federal entities.

This pilot program, named the Louisiana Regional Emergency Command and Operations Network (LA RECON), is a cooperative exercise designed to target emergency preparedness, threat response and protection of critical commercial infrastructure. The U.S. Department of Defense, Homeland Security/Defense Command and Control Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration service fund this program.

Because of the local industrial facilities, which are vital to national security, and a history of cooperative emergency management among agencies, Thibodaux and Lafourche Parish were chosen for this exercise.

There is no risk involved; it’s only a test of new technologies to foster better communication among emergency response agencies on the local, state and federal level.