WAILUKU, Maui — As part of an annual training exercise designed to help local agencies effectively respond to a terrorist incident involving Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), multiple governmental agencies will be involved in a joint exercise on Maui this week, according to a Maui County news release.

Federal, state and county agencies will be participating at various levels as part of a planned comprehensive approach. The exercise, conducted by the 93rd Civil Support Team (CST) of the Hawaii National Guard, will give responding agencies an opportunity to conduct individual, collective and joint-interoperability training, according to the news release.

The 93rd CST is the state's dedicated response agency to any weapons of mass destruction incident that occurs in the state of Hawaii. The planned exercise will highlight local, state and national response capabilities to a WMD terrorist event.

Under the guidance of the 196th Infantry Brigade from Fort Shafter, several National Guard units will be deployed to Maui to assist local agencies with the training exercise. Members of the various participating exercise will test communications, operations and the incident command system. The exercise will take place today and tomorrow.

The public can expect to see approximately 20 - 25 "Suburban-type" dark blue vehicles traveling at times as a convoy. The situational training exercise will be conducted in Central, South and West Maui. During the exercise the public will see Fire, Police, Coast Guard and National Guards units moving in and through several areas in Central and South Maui.

"The primary goal of this annual December exercise is to help county and state agencies prepare and train for an actual event should it occur and to protect the people and property of Maui to the greatest extent possible," said Mayor Charmaine Tavares. "This exercise gives us a unique opportunity to practice and be prepared should an incident involving weapons of mass destruction occur on Maui or elsewhere in our county.

"Although the prospect of such a terrible situation coming to Maui can be unthinkable to many - nonetheless, it is wise to be prepared and rehearse coordination efforts between federal, state and county agencies," Tavares said in the news release.

The annual exercise is hosted and led by the 93rd Civil Support Teams, (CST)-Hawaii and includes participation by the 95th CST-California, the 94th CST-Guam, State Civil Defense, County of Maui's Fire Department and Police Department, State Department of Health Radiation Assessment Team Emergency Response Training Institute, Hawaii National Guard's 93rd Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team, U.S. Coast Guard and the County's Civil Defense Agency.