HAMPTON -- This week at Fort Monroe, 150 participants from 32 federal, state and local agencies are practicing for the next big domestic crisis.

The DICE, short for Department of Defense Interoperability Communications Exercise, is designed to test new software and other communications systems in a realistic tactical setting. Basically, it will see if first responders and various layers of government can talk to each other in a time crunch.

“Let’s make sure now when we’re not responding to an incident that we can communicate with each other, which means we can all do our jobs better and help people out,” said Captain Casey Collins (USN), Joint Task Force Civil Support Chief of Staff.

It could be a terrorist attack like 9-11. It could be a natural disaster like Hurricane Katrina. Curt Shaffer, Assistant to the Hampton City Manager, believes vital lessons were learned from both catastrophes.

“Our capabilities are vastly improved, but we have a long way to go,” he said.

The DICE is being staged by the Fort Monroe-based Joint Task Force Civil Support.

The group falls under United States Northern Command, and was created in the wake of 9-11 to protect the United States homeland and support civil authorities during domestic emergencies.

Northcom’s Commander, Air Force General Victor Renuart, says the nation’s communications systems are “light years” ahead of where they were a few years ago. He says the country is safer, yet challenges remain.

“We have to find a way to integrate local responders with state responders with federal responders,” said Renuart.

While training like the DICE is important, Joint Task Force Civil Support also responds to real-world situations; most recently sending a planning team with expertise in chemical, biological, nuclear and high-yield explosives to last fall’s massive southern California wildfires.