BREAKING: Large Scale Nuclear Incident *Exercise* Starts TODAY, Warning Issued By FBI

*Public Need Not Be Alarmed*

That is the line that appears at the top of an FBI alert on the Bureau’s website, warning of a “Large-Scale Nuclear Training Exercise”.

The exercise has been announced for January 26-31, and is reportedly going to take place in the Albany, Saratoga, and Schenectady areas of New York.

⚠️ A large-scale, multi-agency nuclear incident TRAINING EXERCISE will take place 1/26-1/31 in Schenectady, Albany, & Saratoga Counties. The training exercise will NOT pose risks to area residents. Please do not be alarmed by the activity. More: https://t.co/vQgEQJj4SC pic.twitter.com/YQ91jHf8gl

— FBI Albany (@FBIAlbany) January 25, 2025

The multi-agency exercise will include a litany of Federal and State agencies, according to the official announcement on the FBI website.

Here is the full text of the FBI announcement:

January 24, 2025

Large-Scale Nuclear Training Exercise to Take Place in Schenectady, New York
Public Need Not be Alarmed

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From January 26-31, 2025, a large-scale, multi-agency nuclear incident training exercise will take place in the vicinity of Schenectady, New York, and surrounding counties of Albany, Saratoga, and Schenectady. The training exercise will not pose any risk to area residents; the public does not need to be alarmed by training-related activity, including the presence of military personnel and aircraft, and people in protective equipment.

The Departments of Defense (DoD), Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and state and local partners will conduct the exercise in several areas of Schenectady and Albany, Saratoga, and Schenectady Counties as part of a series of regularly scheduled U.S. government biannual exercises. Similar trainings have been conducted in various regions across the United States since 2012.

The general areas in which the training exercise will take place include areas around Albany Airport to Stratton Air National Guard Base to northern Saratoga County.

Several local and state law enforcement, fire, emergency management, and public health agencies will also be participating in the training, including the New York State Police, Albany, Saratoga, and Schenectady County Sheriff’s Offices and the Albany Police Department.

Exercise participants will conduct operations in personal protective equipment to simulate realistic conditions. It will also include aircraft from federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.

The exercise is an opportunity for participating entities to practice and enhance operational readiness to respond in the event of a nuclear incident in the United States or overseas.

Due to the sensitive nature of the capabilities being implemented, the training activities are not open to the public or media.

Again, the training exercise will not pose any risk to the public.

The exercise is reportedly conducted regularly since 2012, and is not in response to specific world events — so they say.

🚨 Multi-agency nuclear incident training to be held in Capital Region, full story in the link: https://t.co/B2jYMN1iaJ pic.twitter.com/L0LBDDCkjY

— NEWS10 ABC (@WTEN) January 25, 2025

It will include personnel in protective equipment, vehicles, and aircraft according to ABC News 10 out of New York:

Officials stated that the training poses no threat to the public. Residents should not be alarmed by any activities of the exercise, such as the presence of military personnel, protective equipment, vehicles, and aircraft, which may be visible throughout the area beginning on Monday, January 27.

The training is part of regularly scheduled exercises conducted by the federal government since 2012 and is not in response to any world events, FBI Albany confirmed on Saturday. The exercise will primarily take place at and around the Stratton Air National Guard Base, Albany International Airport, and portions of northern Saratoga County.

The training aims to bolster operational preparedness in the event of a nuclear incident in the U.S. or overseas. The following agencies will be involved in the exercise:

• Federal Bureau of Investigation
• National Nuclear Security Administration
• Department of Defense
• Department of Energy
• Department of Homeland Security
• New York State Police
• Albany County Sheriff’s Office
• Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office
• Schenectady County Sheriff’s Office
• Albany Police Department
• Various fire and emergency management units

This is preliminary information, and quite frankly I am surprised how little information — and how close to the training exercise — it is being shared.

The only specific information I could gather at this time, from ABC News 10 referenced earlier, indicates that the National Technical Nuclear Forensics Ground Collection Task Force (that’s a mouthful!) will be practicing their priority task — collecting debris for analysis after a nuclear incident.

While I don’t wish to add to the already sketchy nature of world events, I can’t help but feel uneasy about this announcement, and the way it was made.

This is a developing story, and you can be sure we will cover this alleged training op as it unfolds.