A.G. Gancarski
Naval Air Station Jacksonville is getting ready for two parallel anti-terror training exercises in February.
Howard Wanamaker, commanding officer of NAS Jax, informed Jacksonville City Hall in a letter that NAS Jax will participate in Solid Curtain/Citadel Shield 2016.
The exercises enhance the training and readiness of security forces to respond against threats to institutions, Wanamaker writes.
The exercises are simultaneous, enhancing the “readiness” of Naval Security Force personnel to “respond to real world threats.”
Just as freedom is never free, anti-terror exercises aren’t without inconvenience: “There may be times when the exercises cause increased traffic around the base, delays in base access, and facility closures.”
As well, “drivers and passengers” near NAS Jax “should also carry proper identification with them at all times.”
In a Navy news release earlier this month, William Clark, exercise program director, said, “Solid Curtain-Citadel Shield 2016 provides the means by which USFF (U.S. Fleet Forces) and CNIC (Commander, Navy Installations Command) assess Navy anti-terrorism program command and control capabilities, and the readiness and effectiveness of fleet and region program execution throughout the U.S. Northern Command area of responsibility. Exercise scenarios are based on our assessment of terrorist/homegrown violent extremist objectives, capabilities and current real-world events.
“The exercise consists of approximately 300 field-training exercise events on and off Navy installations across the country, enabling assessment of the Navy and civilian law enforcement’s response to attacks both on installations and at soft targets off-installation,” the release states.
Previous iterations have focused on what one outlet calls “the active shooter scenario,” which regrettably happens often enough to warrant constant vigilance, preparation, and refinement of best practices.
