In the first minutes following a terrorist incident involving WMD, the critical response will come from the State and local first responder communities. While certain jurisdictions are currently well trained and equipped to respond to an incident, others are not. An effective response will require coordinated planning, training, equipping, and exercising on the part of all agencies involved, Federal, State, and local. The NDPO is intended to serve as the central coordinating office and information clearinghouse for Federal assistance programs, with the goal of integrating and streamlining government assistance. The NDPO will be organized into six program areas to coordinate and share information: planning, training and exercises, equipment/research and development, information sharing and outreach, public health and medical services, and program staffing. The Domestic Preparedness Leadership Group (DPLG) will be a cabinet level group that will be a forum for strategic guidance and the resolution of policy issues. The main focus of this group will be to contribute to the development of and updates to the national strategy for domestic preparedness, and to provide policy and program oversight to NDPO activities. The Assistance to State and Local Authorities (ASLA) will serve to elevate issues of concern identified by the State and local authorities, as well as addressing crosscutting interagency issues and concerns. Federal agencies to assist these groups will include the Department of Energy, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Defense, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.