Posted Wednesday, May 26, 2010---5:43 p.m.

UW Madison, along with several law enforcement, medical and other area agencies held a full scale emergency drill today.

The exercise, named "Operation Badger One", simulated an incident on campus that required a response from several emergency agencies.
The scenario involved a man with bombs and a gun. It included actors who posed as hostages and victims who were injured or killed.

The exercise was designed to improve the University's response to real emergency situations. UW officials say one of the goals was to test procedures that are in place and to do so in a realistic environment.

"I think just for any agency its good practice. The more you do things the better you get at it and you can find where there's deficiencies and make improvement in those things so not only for the university, but for any agency to do those type of things," says Sergeant Kerri Miller with UW Police.

The victims were transported to local hospitals, which also participated in the exercise. Organizers say the exercise was designed to test preparedness, teamwork and communication between the agencies.

The exercise was a year in the making--with the UW Madison Police Department Emergency Management Unit heading up the planning.