The Michigan State Police visited Fermi 2, a Utilities Service Alliance fleet member, to conduct exercises with the plant’s Nuclear Security group.

During the activities, the police’s Emergency Support Team — a specialized force that is deployed for extremely difficult or dangerous tasks such as hostage rescue, barricaded gunmen, high risk arrests and others — conducted missions in a building at the site.

Dressed in camouflage and protective equipment and armed with simulated weapons, the police units fought against several Fermi 2 security officers (also armed with simulated weapons) to, for example, rescue a hostage.

The exercise was intense, amplified with pop-pop-pop of gun fire from the simulated weapons, which mimic the sound of firing real weapons. The police moved through the building using radios to communicate and flash lights secured at the barrels of the weapons to see.

It was an impressive display of force and professionalism.

Officers in the Emergency Support Team train at each of Michigan’s three nuclear power plants, including another USA member, Cook Nuclear Plant. The exercises aid in the coordination between on-site security forces and responding agencies, in the case of a real emergency.

The exercise aligns with U.S. nuclear industry’s focus on public trust and confidence.

It is also part of Fermi 2’s commitment to working with local, state and federal agencies to maintain readiness and foster productive relationships with law enforcement.

Brian Angel, a Fermi 2 security officer, looks out a window looking for an adversary force made up of elite Michigan State Police officers. The exercise pitted the state police against Fermi 2 security forces, all which used simulated weapons.