Office for Bombing Prevention (OBP) Training Program

To reduce risk to the nation’s critical infrastructure, the Office for Bombing Prevention (OBP) develops and delivers a diverse curriculum of training and awareness products to:

• Build nationwide Counter-Improvised Explosive Device (C-IED) core capabilities.
• Enhance awareness of terrorist threats.

Coordinated through state homeland security officials and training offices, OBP courses educate on strategies to prevent, protect against, respond to, and mitigate bombing incidents. Federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial participants include:

• Municipal officials and emergency managers
• State and local law enforcement and other emergency services
• Critical infrastructure owners and operators
• Security staff
• Public and private sector partners

OBP Training Types

The Office for Bombing Prevention (OBP) offers bombing prevention training throughout the United States on multiple platforms to meet stakeholder needs: direct delivery in-person in a traditional classroom setting or in-residence at the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP), online through a Virtual Instructor-Led Training (VILT) platform, and through Independent Study Training (IST).

Direct Delivery Training

• In-person in a traditional classroom setting delivered on location by Mobile Training Team
• In-resident training courses at the FEMA CDP
• In-person and delivered on location by authorized participating agency’s/organization’s Empowered Trainers (through Train-the-Trainer)

Online Training

• Virtual Instructor-Led Training (VILT)
• Web-based Independent Study Training (IST)

Courses cover topics that span the bombing prevention spectrum and are organized in three levels of instruction: Awareness, Performance, and Management. 

All training courses offered by OBP are available at no cost, comply with American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) standards, and are certificated for Continuing Education Units (CEUs). A FEMA Student ID (FEMA SID) is required to participate in OBP course offerings. To obtain a FEMA SID, visit the FEMA SID Registration Webpage.

Download the printer-friendly OBP Training Fact Sheet.

Direct Delivery Training

Coordinated through Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Protective Security Advisors (PSA), State Homeland Security Officials, and training offices, Office for Bombing Prevention (OBP) courses educate federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial participants—such as municipal officials and emergency managers, state and local law enforcement and other emergency services, security staff, critical infrastructure owners and operators, and private partners—on strategies to prevent, protect against, respond to, and mitigate bombing incidents. For more information or to request OBP Counter-Improvised Explosive Device (C-IED) direct delivery in-person training, please email OBPTraining@cisa.dhs.gov. Download the printer-friendly Instructor-Led Training (ILT) Fact Sheet.

Virtual Instructor-Led Training (VILT)

VILT courses provide general Counter-Improvised Explosive Device (C-IED) information to a broad audience via online training with a live instructor using a virtual classroom platform. Perfect for participants with time availability constraints, most classes are approximately one-hour in length and can be taken independently. For more information and to register, visit the VILT Schedule and Registration Webpage. Download a printer-friendly VILT Fact Sheet.

Independent Study Training (IST)

IST web-based courses are self-paced and designed for a broad audience to provide general awareness-level, Counter-Improvised Explosive Device (C-IED) information to public and private sector partners to enhance awareness and response to IED threats. These courses are available on Office for Bombing Prevention's (OBP) Technical Resource for Incident Prevention (TRIPwire) under C-IED Training or through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Emergency Management Institute (EMI) and are offered free-of-charge. Download a printer-friendly IST Fact Sheet.

Empowered Trainer Program

The Empowered Trainer Initiative (ETI) is a Train-the-Trainer (TtT) program designed to build the Counter-Improvised Explosive Device (C-IED) training capabilities of public and private stakeholders by providing trainers with the essential knowledge and support required to effectively deliver OBP’s C-IED and risk mitigation training in their local jurisdictions and/or their individual organizations using accredited curriculum and learning management systems. Become an OBP certified trainer through our Empowered Trainer Initiative, C-IED TtT Program. Download the printer-friendly TtT Program Fact Sheet.

Instructor-led Resident and Non-resident C-IED training is delivered by subject matter experts that come to your location, or in-residence at the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP). These courses build nationwide C-IED capabilities and increase awareness of IED threats by providing information to prevent, protect against, respond to, and mitigate bombing incidents. All courses are provided free of charge. Download the printer-friendly Instructor-Led Training (ILT) Fact Sheet.