Part 1: (3 days) This National Emergency Management Basic Academy course introduces the participants to what the Public Information Officer (PIO) does in emergency management along with the basic information about the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS). The PIO topics covered include the role of the PIO; communication tools and resources encompassing social media; effective communication; preparing the community through outreach and other means; and communication in an incident. The IPAWS topics covered include what the system is and does, preparing alert and warning messages, and writing common alerting protocol messages. This is a 3-day classroom course which gives participants time to perform activities and exercises to reinforce the knowledge and build basic skills.

Part 2: (2 days) This is an intermediate-level course designed to describe the core principles and processes of HSEEP, its standardized methodology, available resources, and practical skill development, which will assist in developing an HSEEP consistent exercise program. The objectives of the course are to understand the role of HSEEP in National Preparedness, and how HSEEP exercise principles and methodology support efforts across the whole community to improve our national capacity to build, sustain, and deliver core capabilities.