NML STAFF GUINEA PIGS IN EMERGENCY DRILL

Those bloodied bodies you will see piled up in Cathedral Square Thursday morning will be volunteers from Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company.
The Mayor's office announced at 5:27 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon that a "Full-Scale Emergency Response Drill" was planned for "Thursday March 3rd" in Cathedral Square. [For those who are keeping up with their calendars, Thursday is actually March 2nd.--Ed.] The City of Milwaukee is holding the drill in conjunction with the Department of Homeland Security, so I suppose we have no choice in the matter, but you'd imagine a little warning would be nice.
I mean, how long has the mayor known about this drill?
"Oh, for some time," said mayoral spokesperson Eileen Force, when milwaukeeworld called her at 5:35.
"What is this drill? Doesn't it need a permit? How long has this been planned? Why did you wait until now to tell us? How many stories have appeared in the news media about this exercise? Will there be tanks involved?"
Ms. Force withstood the barrage of questions. The drill is a simulation of some kind of disaster. NML got involved because the Homeland Security folks needed some voluntary victims. The thing has been in the works for a good time, it does require a permit, no stories have appeared about it yet, although the police department has mentioned it and yes, some members of the media were notified about the planned emergency before 5:27 p.m. [So why didn't they write anything?] No tanks will be involved.
So, if you are in the vicinity of Cathedral Square between 9 a.m. and noon on Thursday, March 2nd 2006, you now know what's going on.
A little warning beforehand would have been a nice thing; the correct date even nicer.
Here's the terse press release, tantalizing and utterly lacking in details. Doesn't it scare you, too?

***MEDIA ADVISORY***

City of Milwaukee to Conduct Full-Scale Emergency Response Drill

MILWAUKEE – The City of Milwaukee, in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, will conduct an Emergency Response Preparedness Drill tomorrow, Thursday, March 3^rd beginning around 9:00 a.m. The City is partnering with Northwestern Mutual for this full-scale exercise.

WHAT: City of Milwaukee

Full-Scale Emergency Response Drill

WHERE: Cathedral Square

Downtown Milwaukee

WHEN: 9:00 a.m.

The exercise is expected to conclude around 12:00 noon.

-30-

Eileen Force
Communications Director
Office of Mayor Tom Barrett
City Hall
414-286-8504 (phone)
414-286-3191 (fax)
eforce@milwaukee.gov