Taught by a U.S. Army combat veteran and paramedic and EMS supervisor with 20+ years in emergency healthcare who has designed and run real tabletop exercises, not just studied how · SBA Certified SDVOSB · SAM.gov Registered · CAGE: 1AFL4
The Problem
Most tabletop exercises are a waste of time.
Here is why.
The problem is not that organizations skip exercises. It is that the ones they run are so generic, so low-pressure, and so disconnected from real operations that nobody learns anything. A bad tabletop is worse than no tabletop because it gives leadership false confidence. See how a real exercise is actually built →
Generic Scenarios
Downloaded from FEMA or copied from another organization. No tension. No real decision points. Participants walk through it and forget it by the time they get back to their desk.
Weak Facilitation
The facilitator reads a script and accepts the first answer given. Nobody is pushed to name a specific person, a specific process, or a specific gap. The exercise ends and nothing changes.
No After Action Follow Through
The after action report gets written, filed, and never opened again. Nobody owns the corrective actions. Nothing improves. The next exercise surfaces the same gaps.
Hiring a Consultant Every Time
Bringing in an outside facilitator for every exercise costs $1,500 to $5,000 each time and builds zero internal capability. When the consultant leaves, the knowledge leaves with them.
Not ready for in-house training yet? See ready-to-run exercise packages from $499 →
What You Walk Away With
What Tabletop Exercise Facilitator Training Gets You. Permanently.
🎓
Certificate of Completion
Forward Security Labs Tabletop Exercise Facilitator certificate, issued on completion of all four sessions and the homework exercise.
🗂️
Facilitation Toolkit
Inject format templates, discussion prompt guides, hot wash facilitation cards, after action report template, and improvement plan template. Everything you need to run your first exercise the week after the program ends.
📚
One Year Exercise Library Access
Full access to the Forward Security Labs exercise library for one year. Every package we publish, you can use. Mass casualty, ransomware, BEC, and everything added during your license period.
👥
Cohort Network
Access to a private group with your cohort after the program ends. Ask questions, share exercises, get feedback from peers across healthcare, EMS, government, and security.
✏️
A Completed Exercise
You do not just learn how to build an exercise. You build one during the program and run it with real participants from your organization. You leave with a completed after action report in hand.
📞
30 Day Post-Program Support
Direct access to message us with questions for 30 days after the program ends. If you get stuck on your first solo exercise, you have backup.
The Curriculum
Four sessions. Eight hours. One working exercise.
01
SESSION
Why Exercises Fail and How to Fix That Before You Start
The difference between a real exercise and a check-the-box drill. The HSEEP framework without the bureaucracy. How to build a no-fault learning environment that gets people to actually say what they think. Participants leave with two exercise objectives for their organization and a clear picture of what gap they are going to surface.
02
SESSION
Building a Scenario That Creates Real Tension
How to choose a scenario based on real threat data for your sector. How to write injects that create genuine decision pressure instead of obvious correct answers. How to layer urgency and ambiguity the way real incidents do. Participants write three injects live in session, get direct feedback, and leave with a complete inject timeline for their exercise.
03
SESSION
Running the Room
How to open an exercise so people actually engage. How to ask discussion prompts that pull out real gaps instead of theoretical answers. How to handle the person who dominates, the person who says “we would just call someone,” and the group that wants to solve everything immediately. Participants practice live facilitation with real-time feedback from the instructor and cohort.
04
SESSION
The After Action Is Where the Money Is
How to run a hot wash while the room is still in it. How to translate raw observations into documented findings. How to write an after action report leadership actually reads and an improvement plan with real owners and real deadlines. Participants present their homework exercise findings to the cohort, receive certification, and leave with a completed AAR in hand.
Who This Is For
People who run exercises or need to start.
EMS Chiefs and Officers
Required to run preparedness exercises and want to stop paying someone else to do it every year.
Hospital Safety Officers
Responsible for Joint Commission and CMS exercise requirements and need to build internal facilitation capability.
Security Managers
Running cyber incident, BEC, or business continuity exercises for their organization and want to do it right.
Emergency Coordinators
County and municipal emergency management professionals who need to run exercises for their jurisdiction.
Compliance Officers
Responsible for HIPAA, SOC 2, or business continuity exercises and want to build the skill to run them without outside help.
Consultants
GRC, IT, and risk consultants who want to add professional tabletop facilitation as a billable service for their clients.
Your Instructor
Michael Messina
Founder, Forward Security Labs
U.S. Army combat veteran. Paramedic and EMS supervisor with over 20 years in emergency healthcare. B.S. in Cybersecurity, Cum Laude. SAM.gov registered. SBA Certified SDVOSB.
Most people who teach tabletop facilitation learned it from a framework document. I learned it by running real incidents where getting the command structure wrong had real consequences. That background is what this program is built on. See the exact methodology →
I have designed exercises for healthcare organizations, EMS agencies, and security teams. I know what separates an exercise that changes behavior from one people forget before lunch. That is what I am going to teach you.
Most people who teach tabletop facilitation learned it from a framework document. I learned it by running real incidents where getting the command structure wrong had real consequences. That background is what this program is built on. See the exact methodology →
I have designed exercises for healthcare organizations, EMS agencies, and security teams. I know what separates an exercise that changes behavior from one people forget before lunch. That is what I am going to teach you.
First Cohort
12 seats. First come, first served.
No course platform. No fluff.
Four live sessions, direct feedback, a completed exercise, and the capability to run professional tabletops in-house from this point forward.
Program Fee
$1,500 per seat
✓4 live virtual sessions, 2 hours each
✓Complete facilitation toolkit
✓One year FSL exercise library access
✓Certificate of completion
✓Cohort network access
✓30 days post-program direct support
Email us to reserve your seat. Dates confirmed once the cohort fills. Group rates available for 3 or more seats from the same organization.
Direct reply within 24 hours. No sales team, no handoff.
Forward Security Labs / Forward Career Labs LLC · Wolcott, Connecticut ·
ForwardSecurityLabs.com ·
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SBA Certified SDVOSB · SAM.gov Registered · CAGE: 1AFL4