Hot Wash

A Hot Wash provides an opportunity for exercise participants to discuss exercise strengths and areas for improvement immediately following the conduct of an exercise. The Hot Wash should be led by an experienced facilitator who can ensure that the discussion remains brief and constructive. The information gathered during a Hot Wash can be used during the After Action Report/Improvement Plan (AAR/IP) process, and exercise suggestions can be used to improve future exercises. Hot Washes also provide opportunities to distribute Participant Feedback Forms, which, when completed by players, can be used to help generate the AAR/IP.

For operations-based exercises, a Hot Wash should be conducted for each functional area by that functional area's controller or evaluator immediately following an exercise. It can also provide an opportunity for players to gain clarification on exercise play at other exercise sites or in other functional areas.

Debriefs

Immediately following the exercise, a short debriefing should be conducted with exercise planning team members to ascertain their level of satisfaction with the exercise, discuss any issues or concerns, and propose improvements. Planners should collect exercise attendance lists, provide copies to the exercise planning team leader, collect Participant Feedback Forms, and develop debriefing notes.

Controller/Evaluator Debriefing

The C/E Debriefing provides a forum for functional area controllers and evaluators to review the exercise. The exercise planning team leader facilitates this debriefing, which provides each controller and evaluator with an opportunity to provide an overview of the functional area they observed and to discuss both strengths and areas for improvement. During the debriefing, controllers and evaluators complete and submit their Participant Feedback Forms. Debriefing results are captured and may be included in the AAR/IP. Similarly, for discussion-based exercises, a Facilitator/Evaluator Debriefing is held to review exercise conduct. This debriefing can be facilitated by the exercise planning team leader and provides a forum for facilitators and evaluators to discuss strengths, areas for improvement, and progress in completing exercise objectives.

After-Action Report

The After Action Report is the document that summarizes key information related to evaluation. The length, format, and development timeframe of the AAR depend on the exercise type and scope. These parameters should be determined by the exercise planning team based on the expectations of elected and appointed officials as they develop the evaluation requirements in the design and development process. The main focus of the AAR is the analysis of core capabilities. Generally, AARs also include basic exercise information, such as the exercise name, type of exercise, dates, location, participating organizations, mission area(s), specific threat or hazard, a brief scenario description, and the name of the exercise sponsor and POC.

The AAR should include an overview of performance related to each exercise objective and associated core capabilities, while highlighting strengths and areas for improvement. Therefore, evaluators should review their evaluation notes and documentation to identify the strengths and areas for improvement relevant to the participating organizations' ability to meet exercise objectives and demonstrate core capabilities.

Improvement Plan

Upon completion, the evaluation team provides the draft AAR to the exercise sponsor, who distributes it to participating organizations. Elected and appointed officials, or their designees, review and confirm observations identified in the formal AAR, and determine which areas for improvement require further action. Areas for improvement that require action are those that will continue to seriously impede capability performance if left unresolved. As part of the improvement planning process, elected and appointed officials identify corrective actions to bring areas for improvement to resolution and determine the organization with responsibility for those actions.