GEORGE’S, Grenada: Grenada and other Caribbean countries will be involved in a telecommunications testing exercise on Friday July 29. The disaster preparedness offices in the various islands will participate in a programme which has been dubbed, “Exercise Region Rap.” It is a telecommunications exercise which is conducted to test telecommunications procedures, plans and networks of National Disaster Organisations across the Region. This year’s exercise is being hosted by Grenada’s National Disaster Management Agency, (NaDMA) Director Sylvan McIntyre says that while the exercise provides individual National Disaster Offices with some opportunities to test their national capabilities, the exercise is designed to test the Regional Emergency Communication Network. McIntyre says that Region Rap 2005 is also being used as part of an overall evaluation of regional emergency response and coordination. As such, a high level of participation from National Disaster Organisations (NDOs), response partners and other members of the Regional Response Mechanism is expected to ensure a comprehensive evaluation. Exercise Region Rap 2005 will be based on the scenario of a Hurricane affecting Grenada in the southern Caribbean. The scale of the event is such it warrants external assistance and requires the National Disaster Organisation, the Coordinating Unit and the sub-regional focal point in Trinidad and Tobago to enter into extended operations to monitor and assist in the situation that unfolds. The exercise will be played over a single day in “compressed time” in three distinct phases. The total duration of the exercise is projected to be approximately 8 hours. All exercise related messages via radio, telephone, email, facsimile or satellite phones will be prefixed with the words "Exercise Exercise Exercise." Reprinted from Caribbean Net News caribbeannetnews.com